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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26643193">Do It For Her</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodyfresh/pseuds/goodyfresh'>goodyfresh</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Angst and Tragedy, Battle, Battle Scenes, Betrayal, Canon Compliant, Dark, F/M, Fights, Future Fic, Heavy Angst, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Morally Ambiguous Character, Post-Canon, Post-Steven Universe Future, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Threats of Violence, Tragedy, Tragic Romance, Trauma, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:08:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26643193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodyfresh/pseuds/goodyfresh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Given a terrible choice, Steven does whatever he has to do in order to save the love of his life. The coming battles will be the most difficult he's ever fought both physically and mentally, but he'll do anything for Connie.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connie Maheswaran &amp; Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. He'll Do It For Her</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><strong><span class="u">WARNINGS</span>:</strong> Although I chose not to use Archive Warnings, this fic involves kidnapping, a hostage situation, torture, and bloody violence. <em>Proceed with caution</em>.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A tragic course of events is set in motion, and life will never be the same for Steven, Connie, or their loved ones.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It happens so quickly that Connie, now nearly eighteen years old, can't process what's happening until it's already too late; at one moment she's sleeping peacefully in her bed in her parents' home during the early morning hours (it's almost 5:30 AM and dawn will soon break upon a beautiful early-August day), and in the next moment she awakens to the vise-like grip of a hand over her mouth and the sensation of her arms and legs being tied up.</p><p>A sack is thrown over her head, and she feels herself whisked into the air out of her bedroom window and flown towards an unknown destination; she realizes that she's been kidnapped by a hostile Gem who's capable of flight. She already has a strong suspicion as to who it must be.</p><p>Her suspicion is confirmed when after a few minutes in the air, she's roughly thrown onto a hard metallic floor and her kidnapper yanks the sack off of her head; she glares up at the figure of Bluebird Azurite who hovers a few feet off the ground in front of her with a wicked, psychotic grin on her face. They appear to be inside one of the many ancient abandoned Gem dropships from the War.</p><p>Connie sees that Bluebird is holding her smartphone in her hands, which she must have snatched during the kidnapping, and her blood runs cold; she can easily deduce what Aquamarine and Eyeball likely have planned.</p><p>Bluebird splits into her components, and it's Aqua who speaks for the two before Connie can snap out of her state of shock and say anything:</p><p>"Well well well, we meet again, <em>Connie</em>," says Aquamarine, "and this time, your precious <em>Steven</em> isn't here to help you escape from my clutches. I've been researching Steven and humans; I know now that <em>you</em> matter more to him than <em>anything</em>, even more than his precious father, and that while you're a formidable warrior, you organics have the pathetic weakness of requiring 'sleep.' We may not have been able to get to Steven using his father, but <em>you</em> should make for an even <em>better</em> hostage."</p><p>Connie's eyes widen with horror; their plan is exactly what she suspected. And it isn't lost on Connie that Aqua used the word "father" rather than "My Dad"; Aqua has indeed done her research. Finally finding her voice, she pleads with them: "No, please! You don't have to do this, it's not too late! If you just come with me peacefully to Little Homeworld then you can turn your lives around and become productive members of Era 3 Gem society!"</p><p>Aquamarine laughs wickedly once again, and Eyeball sneers at Connie as she speaks this time: "Ha, as if! You're so <em>annoying</em>, you sound just like that idiotic... what was it called... that stupid <em>boyfriend</em> of yours! We don't <em>want</em> to be part of your dumb, peaceful society; we're wanted criminals, and even if Homeworld lets us off the hook for that, we <em>hate</em> Era 3 anyway! We want revenge on Steven and his stupid friends; we're gonna make them <em>suffer</em>!"</p><p>Connie knows what these two demanded the last time they tried something like this by holding Greg hostage, and she can see that there's no use trying to dissuade them from their evil ways. And so, as tears gather in her eyes, she pleads with them in a wavering voice: "Then just <em>kill me</em> already! If you want revenge on Steven, if you want him to suffer then just... please... don't involve anyone <em>else</em>... just kill <em>me</em>. Don't make him do anything bad, my death alone will be enough to hurt him more than anything else ever has!"</p><p>Aquamarine laughs wickedly once again, twirling Connie's phone between her fingers as she replies:</p><p>"You're indeed a smart one, Connie, but did you <em>really</em> think I'd fall for that? Clearly you realize that aside from simply wanting revenge on Steven, we also want to see Era 3 society <em>burn</em>. You're <em>far</em> more useful to us as a live hostage than as a corpse! As you so astutely deduced, with you in our hands we can make Steven do things that he will forever regret. We're going to make him destroy <em>everything</em> that you two and your precious Crystal Gems have ever fought for and worked towards! Ruby, hold the knife to her throat as we discussed; it's about time I make a video-call."</p><p>Connie tries to struggle against her bindings; Pearl did teach her escape-artistry among many other skills, after all. But the binds are some kind of Gem-tech restraints, and only tighten further with any attempts to slip free. Connie plunges into a pit of despair and tears begin to stream from her eyes; in just a matter of minutes, she's gone from Steven's soon-to-be college-bound girlfriend to a tool for his enemies to use against him in the cruelest of ways.</p><p>She curses her human need for sleep; if only she'd been awake, she could have grabbed her sword and fought Bluebird. Aquamarine grabs Connie's hand to force her finger against the sensor on her phone to unlock it, and brings up Steven's contact in the Vidtime app.</p><p>...</p><p>Steven, who will be turning nineteen years old this month, awakens to his phone ringing on the nightstand in his hotel room. Normally he'd be quite annoyed that someone is calling him at 5:30 AM (he's a few states to the west of Delmarva but still in the Eastern time zone), but since it's <em>Connie's</em> Vidtime ringtone, he smiles; he always loves seeing his amazing girlfriend. He's a bit worried given the time; maybe she had another nightmare about the events on Homeworld four years ago?</p><p>The two years that Steven has been on the road have been the best time of his life; things were rough at first when he started his journey to learn about his human side, but over time he made many wonderful new friends and saw so many amazing places while learning countless things about himself and the world. He's maintained all his pre-existing human relationships, of course: He sees Greg whenever he can, uses Lion's mane to visit Lars for awesome space-adventures, and keeps in touch with Sadie, Buck, Jenny, Sour Cream, Kiki, Peedee, and Onion.</p><p>Steven has also changed a great deal physically. As is always the case with his aging, he can't be sure whether this latest growth-spurt is a human thing; he suspects it's a <em>hybrid</em> thing, that his Gem has grown his human body to match his self-perception.</p><p>Regardless of the mechanism behind his growth, Steven is a <em>massive</em> young man now; he's built like a Quartz, as tall, broad, and barrel-chested as even Jasper, but more full-figured like "Rose" was. He took on a form similar to this during his toxic "training" with Jasper in the past, but this time he has more body fat, and he looks <em>human</em> since he isn't glowing pink. He can also grow a beard now, which is nice, although he prefers to keep it at the level of stubble rather than growing it out.</p><p>All of that "human stuff" isn't to say that he's abandoned his Gem side though, not at all: He's maintained his relationships with Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, Peridot, and Bismuth, and he's even forged a new friendship with Jasper. She still calls him "My Diamond," but now as an affectionate nickname to signify how she respects him as a friend and for his <em>real</em> strength rather than as a commander and for his mere power. He was pleasantly surprised by how she turned her life around and ended up in a relationship with Lapis of all people, and he's glad that those two are happy. Bismuth and Pearl are together now, too. Steven loves the Gems dearly; he's realized that as a hybrid, the <em>best</em> thing for him mentally is to embrace <em>both</em> sides of who he is.</p><p>He even hangs out with Spinel sometimes, although the Diamonds are a touchy subject; he <em>wants</em> to forgive them and bring them into his life as his family (they're basically his aunts), but he's still working towards being <em>ready</em> to forgive them. By now they at least understand that Steven needs time and space away from them and will reach out once he's ready, and they make themselves scarce whenever he and Connie hang out with Spinel.</p><p>And that brings us to the best part of all for Steven: His relationship with Connie. He can honestly say that without a doubt, being Connie's boyfriend is <em>the best thing that's ever happened to him</em>. Thanks to Lion, the "long-distance" nature of their relationship hasn't kept them from regularly seeing each other for dates.</p><p>Steven falls in love with his precious Strawberry a little bit more every time he sees her, and she feels the same way about her Biscuit. Connie also loves how Steven has grown physically; as always, she'd love him <em>no matter what</em> size he is or what age he appears to be, but it certainly <em>doesn't hurt</em> that her late-blooming boyfriend is now a hulking mountain of a man.</p><p>Yes, Connie is the brightest spot in Steven's life that has become so much brighter and more hopeful overall during these past two years. So although he's worried about what Connie's reason may be for calling at such an ungodly hour, Steven smiles as he answers the Vidtime call. He feels surprisingly well-rested anyway, probably because he went to bed early last night. He starts to speak once the audio connects and the video begins to load, saying "Heeey Strawberry, you doing okay? What's u-," but when the video connects and he sees Aquamarine his blood runs cold.</p><p>Aquamarine smirks maliciously and says in her usual sarcastic, teasing tone: "Why hello there, Mr. Savior of the Universe. Long time no see, right? You look rather upset... were you perhaps expecting someone else?"</p><p>Steven turns bright pink; this is the first time in <em>over a year</em> that he's gone Pink <em>inadvertently</em> as a stress-response. He actually has control over his Pink State now and can enter it at will if he chooses. Not that he's ever needed to do so recently, but just like all his powers that originally manifested from emotional responses, it's something he learned to control over time; just like how he eventually learned to float even while depressed, he can now turn Pink even while happy.</p><p>But at this moment, he's regressed to the point of turning Pink out of rage and fear. He knows he's in a hotel full of ordinary humans, so in as loud a voice as he can muster without a "Pink Scream," he responds to Aquamarine by yelling two simple words: "<em>WHERE'S CONNIE?!</em>"</p><p>He half expects Aquamarine to play dumb for a moment and pretend she doesn't know who he means (that would be just like her), but it seems she'd rather get straight to the point. "Don't worry," she says, "your precious <em>Connie</em> is right here, completely unharmed, and she'll <em>remain</em> unharmed as long as the two of you <em>cooperate</em>." She turns the phone to show Connie, who has a panicked expression and tears streaming down her face, kneeling on the ground with her hands and feet bound as Eyeball holds her knife to her throat.</p><p>Seeing Steven on the screen from a distance, Connie yells in an anguished voice: "Steven, please, whatever they tell you, whatever they ask you to do, don't listen, don't do it! It's not worth it, <em>I'm</em> not worth it! I ca-"</p><p>With a nod from Aquamarine, Eyeball slaps Connie hard across the face and yells, "Shut your trap, <em>human!</em>" Aquamarine, satisfied that her partner has silenced Connie for the time being, says:</p><p>"As I stated, Connie won't be hurt as long as <em>both</em> of you cooperate." She turns to address Connie and continues: "That includes <em>you</em> not doing anything <em>stupid</em> like trying to talk your pushover of a boyfriend into disobeying us! If you try that again, you <em>won't die</em>, but you <em>may</em> find a few of your bones broken." Connie spits blood out upon the floor as more blood trickles from the corner of her mouth; she glares daggers at Aquamarine, but she doesn't attempt to speak again.</p><p>"DON'T TOUCH HER, DAMMIT," Steven yells, "you fucking SCUM, don't hurt her! Just... just tell me what you want already!" He can tell that this situation is as bad as can be, a true worst-case scenario; Aqua and Eyeball were already terrible people two years ago when they held Greg hostage, but it seems that by now they've grown <em>completely</em> unhinged and <em>psychotic</em> in their desire for vengeance.</p><p>They seem more serious about this than ever; Eyeball is now content to let Aqua, the brains of the operation, do most of the talking, and Aqua has seemingly grown far savvier and done her research. Steven manages to calm his breathing as his therapist taught him, and his Pink glow fades, but the dread that has taken hold of his heart remains.</p><p>"Good, good," Aquamarine replies in a wicked tone, "it seems that <em>you</em>, at least, understand the consequences of noncompliance. As for what we <em>want</em>, Steven: You are to bring an end to the <em>idiocy</em> of Era 3."</p><p>"Our demands are as follows: Destroy the Crystal Temple and your old house. Poof and bubble <em>all</em> of your Gem friends and family: Not just the Pearl, the permafusion, and the overcooked Amethyst, but the Lapis Lazuli, the Peridot, the Bismuth, and the Jasper as well. We <em>would</em> ask you to <em>shatter</em> them, but I know you won't <em>intentionally</em> go <em>that</em> far, not even for Connie here. But, if you just <em>happen</em> to lose control of your power and shatter someone <em>accidentally</em>, we certainly won't complain about it." She grins psychotically upon saying that.</p><p>Aquamarine really has done her research this time; she isn't done yet, and Steven grows increasingly horrified as she continues listing her demands: "Raze Little Homeworld to the ground and take out <em>anyone</em> who stands in your way. Leave not a single structure standing except for the Warp Pad if you so desire. Finally, you are to go to Homeworld and <em>poof and bubble the Diamonds</em>, as well. You can do as you please regarding the Spinel; she's nothing but a jester anyway."</p><p>Steven is gripped by fear and his jaw hangs slack upon hearing all of Aquamarine's and Eyeball's demands. He knows that the power of the Pink Diamond gemstone can grow with his emotions, and that at his full potential he's <em>the most powerful being in the cosmos</em>. So it's not his opponents in the coming battles that he fears:</p><p>What he fears is how he'll have to <em>betray</em> his friends and family, and <em>how much power he'll have to unleash</em> to defeat the likes of Lapis, the Diamonds, and whatever powerful fusions he may face; will he be able to maintain control? He won't shatter anyone... right? Even if he can physically do this without losing his mind, it will still be psychologically torturous. Aquamarine knows that, as indicated by the sadistic expression upon her face as she continues:</p><p>"Of course, if you fail to comply with or carry out even a single one of those demands, then Connie here <em>gets it</em>. And by <em>it</em>, I mean <em>Ruby's knife in her throat</em>; make no mistake, Steven, if you don't do as I say, then Connie will <em>die</em>. We'll leave her bleeding out on the floor, clutching at her throat as she wonders why her precious Steven chose everyone else over her."</p><p>Eyeball grins wickedly in the background, her knife still held to Connie's throat, as great rivers of tears pour from Connie's eyes. Connie <em>doesn't</em> look <em>afraid;</em> she simply looks <em>miserable</em>. Aquamarine goes on: "But you <em>won't</em> choose the others, will you? <em>Connie</em> here matters more to you than <em>all</em> of them, so you'll choose her over them and do exactly as I say, won't you?"</p><p>It's clear that Aquamarine is now finished, and Steven closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and slowly exhales as he opens his eyes before replying in the voice of a man who has completely resigned himself to his fate, who has given up all hope of resistance: "I'll do it," he says, "I'll do it for her."</p><p>Aquamarine smiles gleefully and says: "Of course you will, Steven. Just remember, <em>failure is not an option:</em> Do <em>not</em> disobey me, and do <em>not</em> let anyone defeat you, or your dear 'Strawberry' here <em>dies painfully</em>. Keep us updated on your progress by video-calling Connie's phone; it still has plenty of battery life left. You are to <em>show us your work</em> upon completing each step, do I make myself clear?" Steven responds with one simple word and a haunted but determined look in his eyes: "Understood."</p><p>"Steven... no... don't," Connie says in a quiet voice through her sobs as Aquamarine and Ruby laugh diabolically and Aqua ends the call. Connie doesn't fear for her life in case Steven fails; she fears for the psychological toll that this will take on Steven and the Gems. And yet, Connie <em>already forgives Steven</em> for <em>everything</em> that he's about to do on her behalf:</p><p>She <em>hates</em> it, she <em>despises</em> the fact that Steven will do horrible things for her sake. But deep down, she knows that if their positions were reversed, she'd do the same. <em>"I'd do it for him,"</em> she thinks, <em>"and I'd do it again, as many times as necessary."</em> She'd do <em>anything</em> short of intentionally committing murder for the sake of saving Steven's life. She breaks down completely into choked, gasping sobs as the two villainous Gems cackle at her plight.</p><p>"Does it <em>hurt</em>, Connie," Aquamarine asks her, "does it <em>pain you</em> to know what he's about to do to everyone, to know how he's going to destroy everything that you two worked and fought so hard for? Does it pain you to know how he may lose control and shatter someone? Just you wait until we <em>show you the results</em> of his work during his status updates. Steven doesn't need to know this, but listen closely, Connie: You are <em>not to avert your eyes</em> when he calls us back to show us his progress."</p><p>Eyeball cuts in: "That's right, human scum! If you look away, then we'll <em>torture</em> you once he's off the phone! We've done the research, we've learned ways to hurt humans that don't leave marks! HA HA HA, yeah, be afraid!"</p><p>Connie has been through many horrifying, painful, and traumatic experiences in her life, but torture was never one of them. Her eyes, still pouring tears, do widen with fear upon being given a truly terrible choice: She can either experience the mental torture of seeing everything destroyed at Steven's hands, or experience physical torture at the hands of these two psychotic Gems.</p><p>But Connie is <em>strong</em>, strong in <em>the real way</em>, stronger than <em>anyone</em>. She stops crying as her expression settles into a look of determination and extreme contempt, and she makes her choice easily: "<em>Fuck</em> you, both of you," she says in a venomous tone; she knows she's tempting fate, but she doesn't care as she continues:</p><p>"I <em>won't</em> look; I <em>refuse</em> to look at the things you're making Steven do. He's a kind, gentle soul, and <em>how dare you</em> make him sully his hands?! You bitches can do whatever the hell you want to me, but I <em>will not look</em> at the so-called 'status updates!' You're <em>cowards!</em> You know how good a swordswoman I am and were too <em>afraid</em> to come after me while I was awake, but now that you caught me unawares in my sleep and have me defenseless, you're acting all high and mighty as if you <em>actually</em> got the better of me. I can kick Bluebird's ass <em>anytime;</em> if you don't believe me then fuse again, untie me, and I'll fucking show you!"</p><p>A look of extreme rage crosses both Gems' faces, but Aquamarine is quick to recompose herself and her face settles into an eerily calm expression as she quickly says: "Ruby, step away from her; we can't have you bursting into flames and causing further <em>visible</em> injuries to her that may ruin our plan to control Steven." Eyeball does as she's told: She stomps off to a far wall, immediately bursts into flames, and punches the wall repeatedly in her rage. Aquamarine addresses Connie in an eerily calm voice:</p><p>"Well, Connie, you certainly are quite brave, aren't you? I already knew that, but you have even more fight left in you than I expected. But I wonder just how long that bravery of yours will hold up; since you're practically <em>asking</em> for it, we may as well get a head start on the pain <em>right now</em>, don't you think?" Connie expected this; she knew she was playing with fire but didn't care as long as she could get under Aquamarine's and Eyeball's skin, which she obviously did. Aquamarine flies over to an alcove and returns holding a device that looks like a small Gem Destabilizer.</p><p>"Come now Ruby," says Aquamarine, "calm down and watch the show; you're going to want to see this. Once you literally cool down, I'll let you take over for me; I need to be available to answer the phone, after all."</p><p>Aquamarine switches on the device which sparks with currents of yellow power, and grins wickedly at Connie as she says: "Now then Connie, let's get started, shall we?" Connie steels both her face and her mind; she truly is stronger than anyone, and during the agonizing minutes and hours that follow, she never once gives Aquamarine and Eyeball the satisfaction of seeing her cry, scream, or give any response at all other than hateful glares as she tells them to go fuck themselves.</p><p>...</p><p>When Aquamarine hangs up, Steven acts as quickly as possible. He knows that Connie will no doubt freely express her disdain for Eyeball and Aquamarine, and he knows that those two psychopaths can't be trusted to keep their word not to hurt Connie; they'll certainly keep her <em>alive</em> since they need her as a hostage, but he shudders when he thinks of what <em>non-lethal</em> things they may do to her.</p><p>Deep down, a part of him knows that he can't trust them to keep their word about <em>anything</em>, but he chooses to engage in denial and pushes those thoughts to the back of his subconscious mind; if there's even a <em>chance</em> that Connie's life can be saved, then he'll do whatever he has to for her, and he can't allow room for doubt.</p><p>He throws on some proper clothing, chugs a large glass of water, and devours a few protein-bars from his stash as quickly as possible, shoving a few more into his pockets along with a water-bottle. He's not wasting time, because his human body will need all the energy it can get; he knows he can defeat Lapis and the Diamonds, but he's not so arrogant as to think he can defeat <em>all four of them in a row</em> after <em>skipping breakfast</em>, at least not if he plans to try to retain enough of his sanity to remain in human form and to retain enough control to avoid shattering anyone.</p><p>He grabs his phone, opens the hotel room window, jumps out, and floats down to the parking lot below; as he does so, he psychically calls out to Lion with a simple thought: <em>"Connie's in trouble."</em> By the time he lands on the ground, a pink portal has already opened and Lion leaps from it, skidding to a halt in front of Steven.</p><p>"Lion," Steven says in a resigned tone, "Connie's being held hostage and we can't risk tracking her down or she'll be killed. She might be getting hurt right now and there's no time to waste, but she'd want me to run this by you first: The <em>only</em> way to save her is to do <em>horrible</em> things. Having you as transportation will help me conserve power and act faster, but I need to ask you: Will you do <em>anything</em> for Connie's sake?" Lion nods solemnly. "Good," Steven says, "because we have to poof all of our Gem friends, destroy the Temple and Little Homeworld, and poof the Diamonds."</p><p>Lion looks shocked for only a moment before he steels his resolve and nods again. He's loyal to Connie first and foremost and Steven second-most; everyone else is tied for a very distant third place. He hates the idea of helping Steven do something like this, and it pains him to know how horrible this must be for Steven and Connie; but just like Steven, <em>he'll do it for her</em>.</p><p>Steven hops onto Lion's back, places his phone (he can't risk it breaking during the coming battles), protein-bars, and water-bottle in Lion's mane, and says in a bitter tone: "Take us to the Temple; we're <em>starting</em> with <em>those three</em>." Lion roars open a portal and leaps through; during the time it takes to pass through the portal, Steven says, "Don't get involved in the battles unless I ask you to or if you have to defend yourself, and don't... don't shatter anyone."</p><p>They exit the portal on the beach in front of the Temple and the house; it's about 6:00 AM and the light of dawn is just beginning to creep up on the horizon out across the ocean. Steven hops down onto the sand (Lion retreats to a safe distance), enters Pink State, and <em>screams</em> loudly enough for everyone to hear him; "DAD, GARNET, AMETHYST, PEARL, GET OUT HERE <strong>NOW</strong>!"</p><p>The scream creates a crater in the ground where he's standing. Within less than a minute, the four people in question burst out through the front door of the house and stand on the porch gazing down in shock at Steven and Lion. Garnet holds Cat Steven in her arms, but quickly passes her into the hands of a confused-looking Greg.</p><p>Greg appears groggy (as expected given the time) but is the first to speak: "St... Steven? Wh-what's going on, why are yo-" Steven loudly cuts him off: "Get out of the way, dad; drive the van into town. You shouldn't be here for this." Amethyst and Pearl look absolutely speechless and very confused, while Garnet has a look of horror on her face. Greg replies: "What? Steven, what are you talking about, are y-"</p><p>Steven interrupts him again: "Dammit, I don't have time for this!" To everyone's shock but Garnet's, he raises his right hand and a pink barrier made of interlocking hexagonal plates appears around Greg and Cat Steven; Steven moves the barrier to swiftly but gently lift Greg off the porch and drop him onto Lion's back. "Lion," he says, "keep him out of harm's way. Dad, I'm sorry. Once you see what's about to happen, you'll <em>want</em> to leave."</p><p>Garnet leaps off the porch and lands on the beach about fifteen feet in front of Steven; partially breaking out of their stupor, Amethyst and Pearl leap down to stand at Garnet's side. "Steven," Pearl says, "wha... what is this about? Why are you here, and why are you in... in <em>that</em> form? I don't understand!" Amethyst pipes up: "Yeah bro, what the <em>heck</em>, why would you show up at the crack of dawn and suddenly act all <em>crazy</em> like this? Are you okay, dude? You... you haven't like, <em>regressed</em> to your whole deal from a couple years ago, have you?"</p><p>Steven sighs and is about to respond, but before he can answer, Garnet speaks up: "Steven," she says, "you don't <em>have</em> to do this. I know you <em>think</em> that you do, but this isn't what Connie would want. Together, the four of us can figure out a way to save her from Aquamarine and Eyeball. You have a choice in this." Greg, Amethyst, and Pearl deduce the nature of the situation from Garnet's words, and looks of horror dawn upon their faces.</p><p>Steven replies in a bitter tone: "No Garnet, I <em>don't</em> have a choice; I can <em>tell</em> when you're <em>lying</em>. I <em>know</em> there's no other way, you can't <em>pretend</em> your Future-Vision sees anything other than her death if we track those two down. The knife is already at her throat. I <em>have</em> to poof and bubble everyone and destroy everything. We both know that if it was Ruby and Sapphire, either of them would do this for the other. I shouldn't even be <em>wasting</em> all this time <em>talking</em> to you, but I love you three too much to not at least give you an <em>explanation</em>, and also to say this: I'm sorry."</p><p>His Pink glow fades; he doesn't want to use more power than necessary. Tears gather in his eyes, but he fights off the urge to cry; he can't afford to get distracted.</p><p>Garnet can't find it in her to disagree with Steven's points, because everything he spoke is the truth; even so, she has no choice but to try to stop him. She dematerializes her visor, looking Steven in the eyes as she says, "So be it then, Steven. I love you too, and I'm sorry as well: I'm sorry I lied, and I'm sorry for what's about to happen between us."</p><p>"Amethyst, Pearl," she says in an authoritative tone, "regardless of any extenuating circumstances, <em>Steven is now the enemy</em>. He plans to undo and destroy <em>everything</em> we've ever fought for and worked towards as Crystal Gems for the last 6000 years; <em>he must be stopped</em>."</p><p>Pearl hesitates, saying, "Bu... but Garnet, if we... if we <em>stop</em> him, then Connie, she'll b-" Garnet cuts her off: "That's not the point, Pearl! This is far bigger than <em>just one person!</em> We all love Connie and care for her deeply, but <em>she</em> would <em>never</em> want <em>everything</em> we hold dear to be <em>laid to waste</em> just for <em>her</em> sake! I won't say it a third time: Steven... is... <em>the enemy</em> now. We'll stop him right here and now on this beach, before he can proceed to Little Homeworld! Is that clear?!"</p><p>Garnet doesn't say it, but the other two can easily deduce what else she left unsaid: With the nature of his powers, Steven may end up accidentally doing <em>far worse</em> than just poofing someone once he faces opponents powerful enough to require his Pink State. With tears gathering in their eyes and serious expressions on their faces, Pearl and Amethyst nod.</p><p>Before the battle can begin, Amethyst can't help hesitantly asking: "Uh, so G, what's the plan? Do you see any future where we actually... you know... <em>beat</em> him?" Garnet's expression settles into one of grim determination; she rematerializes her visor and replies, "the <em>plan</em> is to <em>change</em> the future." Amethyst and Pearl both gulp nervously before steeling themselves as best as they can; that isn't the answer they'd hoped for.</p><p>Greg, still holding Cat Steven, looks on in horror from his place on Lion's back as Garnet summons her gauntlets in their upgraded spiked form, Amethyst summons a pair of whips in their morning-star form, and Pearl summons her trident. Steven adopts a fighting stance, summoning his shield over his left forearm and encasing his right fist in a small bubble.</p><p>He hopes that he won't have to use Pink State yet, not against these three; hopefully, the boost in strength that came with his latest growth-spurt will be enough to defeat them without his Diamond-powers. He'll need to keep them from fusing once he has them on the ropes. He's once again gripped by the fear that he may accidentally shatter someone as he once did to Jasper; he can't afford to hold back enough to be defeated, but he'll have to carefully control his power during this and the other battles to come. <em>"I love these three so much,"</em> he thinks, <em>"but I'll do this for her."</em></p><p>The sun begins to rise on a seemingly beautiful early August morning. A few moments of silence pass as a light breeze blows in off of the ocean, and then Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl charge towards Steven in a synchronized battle-formation.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, I've made Connie into a hostage and victim in this story. However, she's still the same badass she's always been, and is far from being a typical "damsel in distress": As she pointed out, this only happened because her cowardly enemies came after her in her sleep, and she could've kicked their asses while awake. And as you can see, she's a fighter to the very end; she's not going to scream, cry, and beg for mercy, because she's a strong badass and refuses to give Aquamarine and Eyeball the satisfaction.</p><p>There's actually a completely different trope called "badass in distress." That's what Connie is here. Even Superman, Captain America, Batman, etc., have been kidnapped and held hostage before, and they don't always break free on their own.</p><p>This is only the beginning, folks. <strong><em>Things will get even darker from here,</em></strong> so brace yourselves.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. And He Would Do It Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Epic fight-scenes are now incoming, but they will of course include heaping helpings of angst on the part of the characters fighting.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite it being one-on-three, Steven dominates the battle against Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. The three of them would <em>like</em> to think that this is because they're out of practice and their hearts aren't in the fight as much as his, but they know the truth: It's simply because he's become too strong for them. His skills are as rusty as theirs are, and having to fight them is as much psychological torture for him as it is for them.</p><p>But thanks to his half-Diamond heritage and his latest growth-spurt into a hulking mountain of a young man, his raw physical power and speed are now somewhat on par with the likes of Jasper (who Garnet had to use superior mental strength rather than power to defeat in the past), and thanks to keeping up with his daily exercise routine, his stamina is nothing to scoff at either. His body's durability seems to be at least on Garnet's level. But what makes this a truly uphill battle for them are his shields and bubbles: They're simply far too resilient, as like always their durability far surpasses that of his actual body.</p><p>They do manage to get past his shield sometimes and land a <em>few</em> hits on his body, but while it slightly drains his stamina, it seems that his healing-factor is also greater than when he was younger; the cuts, bruises, and bone-fractures heal near-instantaneously and don't seem to slow him down at all. Meanwhile, he lands multiple bubble-encased punches and shield-hits on them.</p><p>He's wearing them down as quickly as he can, and they know that; within less than three minutes, Pearl and Amethyst have taken heavy damage to their physical forms and are having trouble standing, and Garnet is growing tired as she herself is covered in a multitude of scuffs.</p><p>By now, the three of them know what they'll have to do if they want to stand even the slightest chance against him, and Garnet uses her Future Vision to actively watch for the necessary opening. It happens very quickly, and nearly anyone else would miss it; charging forward on weakening legs, Pearl misses her footing and stumbles. Steven sees that as an opening, and says "I'm sorry, Pearl" as he surges forward to land a full-power bubble-enhanced punch to poof her.</p><p>But momentarily focusing all his attention on Pearl was a mistake; Garnet takes the opportunity to grow her gauntlets to their maximum size and launch them like rockets at Steven. They knock him back and away from Pearl while obscuring his vision with the sand kicked up by their impact.</p><p><em>"Shit,"</em> he thinks, <em>"I forgot she could launch them like that, she almost never uses that power."</em> He has to take a few moments to rub the sand from his eyes and heal the broken ribs and fractured humerus resulting from Garnet's attack. Garnet takes that opportunity to stretch out an arm and grab Amethyst (who was about to spin-dash at Steven) and rush over to Pearl.</p><p>Within a few seconds when the sand clears and Steven finishes healing, he sees the towering figure of Alexandrite looming over him with all three of her massive right fists already barreling towards his position below her. <em>"Damn it all,"</em> he thinks, <em>"now I have no choice."</em> In less than the blink of an eye, he enters Pink State and blocks all three fists with a barrier of interlocking hexagonal shields.</p><p>Before he can counterattack, Alexandrite backflips away to land upon the raised portion of the beach immediately in front of the house; she materializes Opal's bow, and gripping it in two of her right hands while nocking an arrow and pulling back the string with two of her left hands, aims it straight at Steven's position on the beach. Steven is in great emotional turmoil; he doesn't want to have to do this, he doesn't want to have to use <em>this level of power</em> against <em>anyone</em> if he can help it.</p><p>"Alexandrite, wait, <em>please</em>," he yells up at her, "we don't have to do this! I'm <em>begging</em> you, just <em>stop</em>, de-fuse, and let me poof Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl, and Amethyst! You <em>know</em> you can't beat me when I'm in this state, and you know I won't back down, I <em>have</em> to save Connie! Please Alexandrite, I don't want to hurt anyone more than I have to!"</p><p>Alexandrite yells down at him in her guttural voice: "You know I can't back down any more than you can, Steven! You know that Crystal Gems will never go down without a fight, even when the odds against us are astronomical! I'm sorry, Steven." She opens her second, lower mouth and exhales a gigantic blast of fire at him, simultaneously firing an arrow from her bow; the flames envelop the arrow and <em>merge</em> with it, transforming it into a gigantic, magical flaming arrow heading right towards Steven.</p><p>Steven didn't know she could do that, but it doesn't really matter; his Pink State has grown as much more powerful in young adulthood as his normal state has when compared to his sixteen-year-old self. <em>"So be it,"</em> he thinks, <em>"I'll just have to be careful with my output."</em> With a simple thought, a dome of interlocking pink hexagons forms around him. The flaming arrow collides with the barrier with unbelievable force and generates a huge explosion, but the barrier holds.</p><p>Steven doesn't wait for the flames and sand to settle; as soon as the arrow dissipates, he dematerializes his barrier and takes a flying leap towards Alexandrite using his enhanced speed in this form. Alexandrite perceives him fly out of the cloud of sand as a barely-discernible blur; if it were any of her components, they wouldn't be able to see him at all, but Alexandrite is as much faster than those three as she is more powerful. Just in the nick of time, she raises and crosses all six of her arms to block Steven's bubble-encased punch that's aimed at her midsection.</p><p>The force of the punch sends her reeling; she's sent flying backward and falls upon the house, crushing most of the structure. Steven grimly thinks, <em>"well, there's one objective down, I guess."</em> But he doesn't let up for even a moment, and neither does Alexandrite. Before even regaining her footing, she materializes Sardonyx's hammer and swings it at Steven in his current position in mid-air. However, he proceeds to use a power that she wasn't even aware he has in this form (only Jasper has ever seen it before, after all); he <em>flies</em> to dodge out of the way of the hammer.</p><p>Steven flies straight towards Alexandrite's face and throws a hard, bubble encased right-hook that connect with her left jaw and sends her flying backward into the Temple Statue. He flies towards her, intending to finish the job and de-fuse her, but she breathes a tremendous blast of fire at him; it takes him by surprise, and he doesn't have time to put up a barrier to block it as it sends him flying backward through the air. The durability of Pink State is enough to withstand the flames, but he does sustain some very painful burns and his clothing takes some damage.</p><p>He winces from the pain of the burns (even as they heal rapidly) and floats down to land on the beach below. Alexandrite takes a mighty leap from where he embedded her in the statue and lands on the beach in front of him; her jaw is bruised and swollen, and her arms are bruised and in pain from blocking his earlier punch.</p><p>She growls, and so does Steven; both of them want to end this quickly, but things aren't going as they hoped. <em>"Enough of this,"</em> Steven thinks, <em>"I didn't want to have to do this, but I can't afford to screw around anymore and risk losing, not with Connie's life on the line."</em> He unleashes just a bit more of his gem's power, and his pupils become diamond-shaped.</p><p>With her acute eyesight, Alexandrite sees the change in his pupils; thanks to Garnet's Future Vision, she knows what's about to happen and that it's seemingly unavoidable. Nevertheless, she <em>has to try</em> to change the future, to take him down anyway; Garnet has seen <em>him</em> change the future before, so Alexandrite still holds out hope that perhaps she can do the same. She summons Opal's bow, Sardonyx's hammer, and Sugilite's flail in her various arms and exhales yet another blast of flame at Steven while swinging the hammer and flail down upon him and firing an arrow.</p><p>Steven casually raises a barrier that blocks all of those attacks simultaneously; the arrow shatters against the barrier and the flames dissipate harmlessly, and then he bursts the barrier with enough force that it destroys the hammer and flail. <em>"Dammit,"</em> Alexandrite thinks, <em>"this is it then. There was no pool to hop to outside of the streams; there was no changing this future. He's just too powerful."</em></p><p>Steven <em>speeds up</em> again, flying up into the air with pink energy trailing behind him. He hovers in front of and above Alexandrite's position on the beach below and unleashes a technique he'd desperately hoped he would never have to utilize ever again: He summons four large barriers that he flings down to enclose Alexandrite on all sides, and then summons a massive barrier in front of him and sends it careening towards her. At least this time he doesn't add any spikes, and he does hold back; he doesn't need his current full power, not for Alexandrite.</p><p>The barrier hits her with tremendous force, and a huge cloud of sand and debris billows upwards in its aftermath. He falls back towards the beach, not bothering to float down slowly, and lands on his feet. As he walks forwards, the cloud of debris settles, and he can make out the figures of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl laying upon the ground, groaning in pain and fatigue as they struggle in vain to get back to their feet. He deactivates Pink State. <em>"Thank heavens,"</em> he thinks, <em>"I held back enough."</em></p><p>He walks up to Garnet and looks down at her with a sorrowful expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Garnet," he says, "but I need to take your Future Vision out of the equation first; you know that. That's why I <em>had</em> to come for the three of you first; part of it was to get the... the emotionally hardest part of this out of the way first... but I also need to make sure you can't help Lapis or the Diamonds come up with a plan to stop me."</p><p>She peers up at him with an expression that's a bizarre mixture of regret, sadness, betrayal, love, and understanding, and she replies: "Yes Steven, I know; I can't say your tactics aren't sound. I want you to know that I, and Ruby and Sapphire as well, understand why you're doing this, and we forgive you; but I'm not sure if things can <em>ever</em> be the same between us after your betrayal. <em>Forgiveness</em> doesn't mean that I'll ever be able to <em>stomach being in your presence</em>, not if you go on to destroy everything we've ever worked for. But I will always love you, Steven."</p><p>With tears in his eyes, Steven sighs and responds: "Yeah, I know. But I'd rather live a life without <em>all</em> my other relationships than live in a world without Connie. You'll always be my family, and I'll always love you too."</p><p>Garnet nods, and he summons his shield; holding it in both hands, he swings it down to slice her in half, de-fusing her into Ruby and Sapphire who he immediately poofs with one punch each. He's already heard enough from Garnet, and can't stand to hear Ruby's and Sapphire's individual opinions on him as well. He bubbles them together in a single bubble and leaves it levitating a few feet above the sand.</p><p>He walks over to Amethyst next, tears pouring in rivers from his eyes as he looks down at her. "Amethyst, I... I'm... you know you were always like my... my big s-" he begins to say, but she cuts him off while shooting him an expression that's as much an angry glare as a sorrowful look of pity:</p><p>"Just save it, I <em>don't wanna hear it</em> from you right now, <em>little bro</em>. You'll <em>always</em> be my bro, and I forgive you, but like Garnet said, that doesn't mean I'll be able to stand <em>looking</em> at you, not after this crap you're pulling now. This better be fucking <em>worth</em> it, Steven; <em>she</em> better be fucking worth it, and you damn well better save her. I'll still always love you and all that shit, but I dunno if we can ever be <em>cool</em> again like we were."</p><p>Steven chokes back a sob and says, "yeah Amethyst, I know. I love you too, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry." He poofs her with a single punch to the face and promptly bubbles her. Finally, he walks over to Pearl; he's not sure why he saved her for last, but for some reason it just seems to make sense.</p><p>As tears stream down his face, Steven looks down at Pearl and says in a wavering voice: "Pearl, I... I'm sorry. I'm <em>so</em> sorry. You were the very first Crystal Gem along with my mom... and now I'm destroying <em>everything</em> you worked to build here on Earth. I know it's a huge part of the Crystal Gems' legacy, b-but, you... you need to know, I don't want it to just take you by surprise once you're un-bubbled... I'm gonna destroy the Temple after this. I <em>have</em> to. Also... I know it's screwed up to tell you this <em>now</em>... but... <em>you're</em> the one who's like... like an <em>actual mom</em> to me, Pearl. I never knew my real mom, but even if you made some mistakes, <em>you</em> were always there to act kinda like a human mom would." Of course; <em>that's</em> why he saved Pearl for last.</p><p>Pearl patiently gazes up at him as she waits for him to finish; there's no anger on her face, only sorrow, regret, and love. She replies:</p><p>"Oh, Steven, it's... no, I won't lie, I can't say that it's okay. But... I do forgive you. As Garnet and Amethyst said, I'm not sure if things can ever be the same between us; I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to look at or speak to you again if you succeed at everything Aquamarine must have told you to do. But you <em>are</em>, in fact, <em>like a son to me</em> Steven, and I will <em>always</em> love you. I understand why you're doing this. Remember Steven, you're <em>strong</em>, strong in <em>the real way;</em> you can do anything you put your mind to. So please, as Amethyst said, make sure this is worth it. Connie is... she's almost like a daughter to me herself. If you're going to do this, then do it right, <em>do it for her</em> Steven, <em>save</em> her."</p><p>Steven sorrowfully replies: "I will, Pearl. I promise I'll save her no matter what. All this... and everything else I'm about to do... it won't be in vain. I love you... <em>mom</em>." With his eyes clouded by tears, he raises his hand and poofs her with a hammer fist strike, bubbling her like he did the others.</p><p>Steven looks to his left side; at the end of the beach, Greg holds Cat Steven while standing beside Lion. Of course he didn't actually leave; he saw everything. Steven decides to speak with Greg before finishing his work here.</p><p>He sprints over to his father; he doesn't want to waste time, but still feels obligated to give explanations to his loved ones. Tears are streaming down Greg's face. Steven begins to speak in a voice choked with tears, "D-dad, I... I'm s-"</p><p>Greg cuts him off: "Steven, it's okay, and I forgive you. I... was able to hear some of what was said. I want you to know that you'll still have me in your life, Steven, <em>no matter what;</em> I'm not a Crystal Gem, so I'll <em>always</em> be there for you when you need me as your dad even if they can't stand to look at you. I love you so much, Schtu-ball. As for the house, it's fine; I'm rich after all, and I still have the van."</p><p>Steven gapes in shock at Greg for a moment; once he processes what his father said, he dives forward to sweep Greg into a hug, placing his head atop his father's and sobbing while saying, "D-dad, th-<em>thank</em> you, I... I'm <em>gonna</em> need you after this, I <em>know</em> I will... the Gems, they won't... you, Connie, her parents, Uncle Andy, my human friends, and Lion, they'll be... they'll be all..." He can't bring himself to finish that statement. Cat Steven softly meows while trapped between them.</p><p>Greg reaches up high (it still amazes him how much his son dwarfs him by now) to soothingly rub Steven's back and says: "That's right Steven, you won't be alone, I'll never let you be all alone." He retracts his arm and gently reaches up to push Steven away from him; Steven takes a step back and rubs the tears from his eyes; he already anticipates the question that Greg has to ask him:</p><p>"Steven, I know you need to hurry. But first, I've gotta know, because Dr. Maheswaran will definitely be waking up soon for her job at the hospital: Is what you've gotta do something that you can finish before she notices that Connie's missing?" Steven shakes his head, and Greg continues: "I thought not. Steven, the Maheswarans will assume it's a Gem thing and call me and the Gems before the police. What should I tell them?"</p><p>Steven's expression becomes determined as he answers: "Tell them the truth, because Connie would want them to know what's happening. But tell them that <em>she'll be okay</em>, because I'll do <em>anything</em> to save her; tell them that I <em>promise I won't fail</em>, that I'll get her back to them in one piece. Also tell them that I'm sorry; she's in danger thanks to <em>me</em> dad, and you can't sugarcoat it and say that isn't true. Aquamarine and Eyeball are <em>my</em> enemies, and I should've known they'd try something like this again like they did with you before."</p><p>Greg can't bring himself to dispute what Steven just said, because it's the truth; they should have tracked those two menaces down during the intervening years, they should have realized that they'd kidnap someone as a hostage once again.</p><p>Greg replies: "Okay Steven, that's what I'll tell them. And for what it's worth, I believe in you; I know you can do it, you can save her. I know that it'll be terrible for you to have to fight all your Gem friends, I saw how awful it was for you to fight Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. But you're doing this for a reason that I can understand and respect. I know you'll pull it off." Steven simply replies, "thanks dad, I love you," briefly hugging Greg again before straightening up. He still has work to do here.</p><p>Before continuing with his objectives, he reaches into Lion's mane and pulls out a protein bar and the water bottle, quickly eating and taking a drink to replenish the energy he used (mostly for healing wounds) when fighting Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Alexandrite. He jogs away from Greg with Lion to stand beside the bubbles containing Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst, and Pearl.</p><p>He enters Pink State once more, leaps high into the air, generates a massive spiked barrier, and sends it hurtling down towards the Temple and what remains of the house; it reduces the Temple and house to rubble and splinters, caving in a portion of the cliffside as well; the lighthouse tips over and falls down onto the remains of the Temple. Steven sighs; the human residents of Beach City won't be happy about that.</p><p>He exits Pink State and lands back on the ground beside Lion, pulling his phone out of Lion's mane. He has a call to make.</p><p>Steven quickly dials Connie's phone on Vidtime while walking with Lion over to where his Gem family float in their bubbles above the sand. After two rings, Aquamarine answers the phone and appears on the screen. She grins at him and says: "Well hello there, you look <em>quite</em> upset, Mr. '<em>savior</em>.' I take it that means you have succeeded in at least one of your objectives, then? Do show us, please."</p><p>"Before that," he says coldly, "show Connie to me. I need to know she's safe." Aquamarine says, "why yes, of course," and turns her body so that he can see Connie, with Eyeball's knife again at her throat, in the background behind Aquamarine. He notices two things: First, that Connie is shaking and spasming as if recovering from great physical pain, and second, that she's averting her eyes to avoid looking at the screen.</p><p>He internally seethes with rage while becoming sick to his stomach; just as he suspected they would, they're torturing her. But he's in no position to bargain with Aquamarine, not with Connie's <em>life</em> on the line. Just as he suspected, she hasn't been "cooperating" with the two; his Strawberry is a fighter.</p><p>As for her averted gaze, he can't help but suspect that she must blame him for her situation and hate him for the things he's doing; he wouldn't blame her if she did. But no, that's just negative self-talk on his part, because Connie is <em>far stronger</em> than that, and while continuing to avert her eyes from the phone, she speaks up to assuage his fears:</p><p>"Steven, whatever you do today, I forgive you for all of it. I still love you and always will. Even if the <em>whole universe</em> turns against you after this, I promise that <em>I</em> never will, you'll still have me. I'm not refusing to look at <em>you;</em> I'm refusing to look at the things these two ar-"</p><p>She's cut off by another hard slap to the face from Eyeball when Aquamarine nods at the Ruby. She already has a large bruise forming on her face from the first slap, and blood continues to trickle from her mouth. Eyeball slapped her even harder this time, on the cheek below Connie's left eye, and Steven could swear he heard a sickening <em>crack</em>. He suddenly remembers when Spinel punched him in the exact same spot.</p><p>Steven only barely manages to contain his immense rage as Aquamarine yells at Connie, "what did we say about <em>keeping your damn mouth shut</em>, human," before turning back towards the phone and saying with a disgusted look on her face: "Ugh, she's just like <em>you</em>, so incredibly obnoxious with that repulsive talk of love, caring, trust, and forgiveness. And here I was <em>hoping</em> that she would despise you now. Enough of that, though. As you can see, the only harm that's come to her is due to her lack of cooperation. Give us your status update."</p><p>Steven suppresses the urge to vomit; he needs to digest the food he ate, he can't afford to lose precious energy. He wants to scream and rage, he wants to call Aquamarine out on how they've obviously been torturing her and are hiding it so poorly, he wants to demand that they stop hurting her in any way. But he restrains himself; he knows that if he says any such things, it will only make those two take their rage out on Connie all the more.</p><p>But he can't help asking just one question: "Can I please at least respond to her? I know you'll hate what I say to her, but <em>please</em>, just a few sentences? Let me do that and I'll show you what I've done, and I'll keep doing <em>everything</em> you've asked without <em>any</em> hesitation or complaint."</p><p>Aquamarine looks disgusted again, but she figures it may be best to let him say what's on his mind rather than bottling it up; she knows what happened two years ago, and as much as such feelings disgust her, she knows that if Steven <em>bottles up</em> his emotions it may backfire in a way that ruins her plans. "Very well," she says, "but make it quick; no more than three sentences." Steven is surprised she's allowing this; he won't let this opportunity go to waste.</p><p>"Connie," he says, "I love you so much that I'd do this for you even if you <em>did</em> turn against me along with the whole universe, but knowing that you'll still be on my side no matter what means <em>everything</em> to me, it makes me feel like I'm strong enough to do this without going crazy! Connie, you're strong in <em>the real way</em>, the <em>strongest person</em> in the universe, so I know you can hang in there no matter what they do to you. I love you so, <em>so</em> much, and I <em>promise</em> that no matter what, I'm going to <em>save</em> you, and I'm going to <em>heal</em> you!"</p><p>When he stops, Aquamarine says: "While long-winded and absolutely <em>sickening</em>, that was indeed three sentences. I will hold you to your word; from here on out, there is to be <em>no</em> further <em>sentimentality</em> of that sort. <em>Both</em> of you are not to speak to each other <em>at all</em> during these calls unless you want Ruby here to rough Connie up even more; Steven, you are to simply update me on the status of your mission. Now show us what you've already done, and it better be good." She flies over to Eyeball's side so that they can both see a close-up view of the screen; Connie spits out more blood and continues to stubbornly glare down at the floor.</p><p>Without a word, Steven shifts the phone to show Pearl, Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire in their bubbles, as well as to show the Temple and house reduced to ruins. Aquamarine and Eyeball both grin wickedly and laugh with glee, and Aquamarine says: "Ah, absolutely <em>perfect</em>, I see that you started with <em>those three;</em> it was a sound tactical choice to eliminate the permafusion before she could use her Future Vision to help your stronger foes dev-"</p><p>Aquamarine cuts herself off mid-sentence as a look of shocked realization crosses her face which then shifts into an expression of disdain, and she says: "Hold on, did you... did you destroy the Crystal Temple <em>before</em> dealing with Little Homeworld? You <em>fool</em>, I had no idea you'd gotten so rusty, you should've waited to do anything that large-scale; you've likely drawn attention to yourself!"</p><p>A look of horror crosses Steven's face; Aquamarine is right that he made a huge tactical error, and she continues: "Get to Little Homeworld <em>now</em> before the Lapis Lazuli can arrive at your location, she is the <em>ultimate</em> specimen of her type and you <em>must</em> keep her away from the ocean!"</p><p>Steven says: "You're right, shit, I'll get to Little Homeworld now before Lapis ca-"</p><p>"Before I can <em>what, Steven,</em>" says a familiar voice off to his left; he turns towards its source and sees Lapis with a scowl on her face, accompanied by Jasper, Peridot, and Bismuth. "Fuck," he says, "Aquamarine, I'll call you back once I've handled this."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Now Go Even Faster</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The battles and the angst ramp up further in intensity now that Steven has to face the likes of Lapis and Jasper simultaneously. He'll have to push himself even harder and harden his heart even more if he wants to win, especially since Lapis is <em>pissed off</em>.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I had this horrible moment of realization where it hit me that I forgot that Cat Steven exists (don't pretend that none of you have forgotten she exists before, haha) and lives in the Beach House! So I edited the previous chapters so that Cat Steven is safe in Greg's arms, because obviously while I'm a <em>very</em> evil author I'm not <em>so</em> evil that I would kill off Cat Steven. Heh.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steven hangs up the phone and shoves it back into Lion's mane while pushing Pearl's, Amethyst's, Ruby's, and Sapphire's bubbles into the mane for safekeeping as well.</p><p>The three others seem speechless at the moment, but Lapis seethes with rage as she continues: "You didn't answer me, <em>Steven!</em> Before I and the others here can do <em>what</em>, exactly? Maybe <em>kick your ass</em> for turning <em>traitor?</em> What the <em>fuck</em> is going on here?!? Those are <em>your</em> bubbles that Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl, and Amethyst are in! Did <em>you</em> destroy the Temple? And <em>why the hell</em> are you taking orders from that traitorous wanted criminal of an Aquamarine?"</p><p>The others find their voices. Peridot says: "S... Steven? Is that... is it really you? Steven wouldn't do something like <em>this</em>, right? <em>Please</em> tell me that you're an impostor or that this is some kind of insane prank you and Amethyst came up with." Jasper says: "Steven, My Diamond, what is the <em>meaning</em> of this?!? If it really is treachery, then we'll have to stop you!" Bismuth growls at him in a cold voice: "What the <em>hell</em> did you do to Pearl and the others, Steven?!? You better have a damn good explanation for this!"</p><p>"Yes Peridot, it's really me. And the teardrop-gem Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby have Connie," Steven replies, "they're already <em>hurting</em> her, and they'll <em>kill</em> her if I don't do what they say or if anybody shows up to try to rescue her. Yes, <em>I</em> poofed everyone and destroyed the Temple. I need to poof all four of you, too. Peridot, send evacuation orders to Beach City and Little Homeworld. If you guys don't stand down, this battle will be huge and might bring down Beach City. And once I'm done with you, I'll destroy Little Homeworld. Then the Diamonds are next."</p><p>Everyone's mouths hang open in shock; Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth are close friends with Connie, and Jasper at least respects her. They're all quite horrified to learn of the current situation. However, Lapis, Jasper, and Bismuth quickly pull themselves together, and their expressions settle into scowls.</p><p>Seeing this, Steven sighs and says: "I'd ask you four to just give up and let me poof you, but I know you probably won't, not when I'm destroying everything we've ever worked and fought for here on Earth. I'm sorry, I truly am... I love all four of you and always will, you're my dear friends, you know that. But Connie matters more to me than the whole rest of the universe put together, and I'll do whatever I have to do to save her."</p><p>Bismuth says: "Steven, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we'll always love you and you're our dear friend too; in fact, we <em>owe</em> you, Steven, you changed all of our lives for the better." At this, Peridot and Jasper nod in agreement; Peridot sobs loudly, and tears leak from Jasper's and Bismuth's eyes. Only Steven notices that Lapis doesn't express support for Bismuth's sentiment, and that fills him with a sense of foreboding as Bismuth continues:</p><p>"And we care about Connie too. But you're <em>damn right</em> Steven, we can't just let you get away with what you've done and are planning to do, we can't let you destroy everything all for the sake of one person no matter how amazing that person is or how much we love her. You once told me I'm more of a Crystal Gem than anybody, so I'm gonna make a call right now: <em>You aren't a Crystal Gem anymore</em>, not after what you did to Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, and the sacred place that served as our headquarters for millennia!"</p><p>"Peridot," Bismuth says, "send the evacuation orders to Beach City and Little Homeworld, <em>now</em>. Steven is right about how large-scale the battle between him and Lapis will be, and he told us what he plans to do to Little Homeworld." Peridot nods tearfully and pulls up a holographic display from a device on her wrist, entering in the command-sequence to send emergency evacuation orders to Little Homeworld and Mayor Nanefua. Within moments, sirens go off in the distance.</p><p>Being officially kicked out of the Crystal Gems wounds Steven deeply, but he expected it. He does make one attempt to talk them down: "Guys, like I said I know that asking you to stand down is probably pointless, but <em>trust me</em>, you <em>really</em> don't wanna do this. Those three fused into <em>Alexandrite</em> and I <em>still</em> defeated her <em>easily</em> with my Diamond-powers. Don't make this harder on yourselves, just give up; don't pick a fight with a <em>Diamond</em>."</p><p>Before any of the others can respond, Lapis flies into a rage: "<em>Shut the fuck up, Steven!</em> You know that Crystal Gems won't go down without a fight! Do you realize how fucking <em>stupid</em> it sounds for you to tell us to <em>trust you</em> now?!? Even <em>if</em> it's true, do you think that telling us you beat some <em>weakling</em> like Alexandrite will <em>intimidate</em> us?"</p><p>"Those three slacked off and got rusty, but <em>I've</em> been training my hydrokinesis in case the Diamonds ever became our enemies again, and you <em>know</em> that Jasper here never stopped training her power, durability, speed, and skill. You can emphasize how you're a Diamond all you want, but it won't scare <em>us</em>, because our so-called <em>'paranoia'</em> is about to <em>pay off!</em>"</p><p>She continues in a <em>venomous</em> tone: "I never thought that <em>you</em> would be the Diamond to turn on us, but which one it is doesn't matter; unlike when we fought Blue and Yellow, I'm <em>more</em> than ready now to take on a Diamond's power! You've <em>seen</em> the special technique I created for taking on the Diamonds. And have you forgotten how I was able to hold down <em>your strongest form ever</em> for over a <em>minute?"</em></p><p>"I'm the <em>Ultimate</em> Lapis Lazuli, Jasper here is the <em>Ultimate</em> Quartz, and together with Bismuth and Peridot, we're going to <em>beat you into the ground</em> for being an idiotic fucking asshole who would turn on your friends and family on the orders of untrustworthy hostage-takers! <em>Screw</em> what Bismuth said about always loving you; I'll always be <em>grateful</em> to you, but just because I <em>owe</em> you for helping me so much <em>doesn't</em> mean that I <em>specifically</em> owe you my <em>love</em> now that you've <em>betrayed</em> us!" The others are taken aback by that, but Jasper reluctantly nods in solidarity with her lover.</p><p>Steven sighs and tears gather in his eyes again; Lapis' tone and words hurt him deeply, but he expected this kind of reaction from her. He understands why she's so much angrier than the others, and he doesn't hold it against her; he knows that thanks to the nature of her trauma, she's someone whose trust is hard to gain and easy to lose.</p><p>She doesn't take betrayal well, she's always been one to hold a grudge, and she's always had anger issues. He doesn't blame her for any of that; he figures that <em>any Gem would be that way</em> after getting trapped in a mirror and staying cracked for over 5000 years because both the Crystal Gems and Homeworld Gems refused to give her a chance.</p><p><em>"Besides,"</em> Steven thinks, <em>"Bismuth was way nicer to me than I deserve by saying what she did, and Jasper and Peridot too by agreeing with her. Lapis' reaction makes the most sense, and it's justified; I don't deserve for them to love me anymore. But as long as I still have Connie, I think I can live with that."</em></p><p>Steven forces himself not to cry; turning his head to the side, he yells: "Dad, I'm <em>serious</em> this time, get in the van and drive as far away as you can, <em>now</em>. This fight is going to be <em>huge</em>, you know what Lapis is capable of!" Greg doesn't need to be told again; with a nod and one last tearful look towards his son, he runs up to the van, hops inside while placing Cat Steven in the passenger seat, and drives off as quickly as he can.</p><p>"Lion," Steven says, "I need your backup this time; do your best to keep Bismuth and Peridot off of me, I can't have them distracting me while I deal with the real powerhouses here. But you don't have to poof them; honestly, I probably owe them the <em>courtesy</em> of doing that <em>myself</em>, and I don't want to involve you in my sins more than I have to."</p><p>Lion huffs and nods, a determined expression settling on his face. Bismuth shapeshifts her hands into a hammer and a mace, and while tears pour down her face Peridot calls forth several of her combat-type robonoids while levitating a large amount of metal; she's gathered up all the metallic debris left behind from the house and Temple. Lapis and Jasper nod towards each other and reach out to clasp each other's hands.</p><p><em>"Shit,"</em> Steven thinks, <em>"they're already going for fusion! I have to separate them!"</em> In an instant he enters Pink State and <em>speeds up</em><em>,</em> dashing forward to punch Lapis in an attempt to poof her first; he hates the idea of taking Lapis out while leaving her newfound resentment towards him unresolved, but he has to try to eliminate the biggest threat first.</p><p>But Lapis and Jasper have been training their speed and skills to go up against the Diamonds, so they're able to perceive him heading towards them. Lapis' physical body doesn't have the speed to react, but Jasper does. While she doesn't have time to fuse, Jasper shoulders Lapis out of the way at the last moment and crosses her arms to take Steven's punch, which sends her flying backward to collide with the large pile of rubble where the Temple once stood.</p><p><em>"Damn,"</em> Steven thinks, <em>"I held back too much, I should've gone even faster."</em> He tries to swing his fist to the side to connect with Lapis, but it's too late; she took flight the moment Steven punched Jasper and manages to dodge his attack. He knows that Jasper is still in the game, too; her attack power is extremely impressive, but her <em>durability</em> has always been her strongest suit. He knows all too well just how much force it'll take to cause real damage to her, let alone to poof her; he prays that this time, poofing her is <em>all</em> he'll end up doing.</p><p>Further down the beach, Lion proves himself more than capable of keeping Bismuth and Peridot at bay. Peridot's robonoids and ferrokinesis, and Bismuth's power and skill, are quite impressive, but Lion is even stronger. Bismuth remembers that four years ago, Lion was able to slightly budge Blue Diamond with a roar when the likes of herself and Garnet weren't able to do even that much. "Agh, stop wrecking my robonoids," Peridot yells, "get out of our way, you stupid feline!"</p><p>While Lion keeps those two busy, Steven focuses on the biggest threat; he turns his head to see that to his dismay, Lapis is already hovering over the ocean. He flies into the air and speeds towards her with his right fist reared back and encased in a bubble, but she smirks maliciously at him and materializes a wall of ice that blocks his punch and shatters upon impact. Before he can react, a massive fist made of boiling water crashes into him; it burns him, although not as badly as Alexandrite's flames did, and sends him careening like a meteor back towards the shore.</p><p>He twists in midair to land feet-first on the sand, but just as his feet make contact with the ground he feels a massive impact against his right side that bears into him without stopping: A spin-dash by Jasper with her helmet on. He grits his teeth and reaches up to grab her helmet with his left hand; he plants his feet into the sand and brings himself and Jasper to a halt halfway down the length of the beach. Jasper swings her right fist at him, but before she can connect, he backhands her with a right-handed hammer fist strike that sends her flying into a boulder.</p><p>He winces in pain; he isn't sure how many broken bones he has, but it feels like a few, and on top of that he's sustained some burns. His gem heals his injuries in a matter of seconds, but he has to dodge Lapis' water-chains and whips as he heals.</p><p>Jasper emerges from the rubble; he materializes a barrier on his left side to block Lapis' attacks and turns his head to <em>scream</em> at Jasper while simultaneously using his right hand to fling a quadruple-layered hexagonal shield that hurls her into the base of the cliff with an earth-shaking crash. The scream-and-shield combination is far more powerful than his triple-layered shields were two years ago, and should keep her down for more than just a few short seconds.</p><p>He focuses his attention on Lapis again; he sends several hexagonal shields towards her that she blocks or dodges, but one of them slices through her left wing so she loses balance in the air and begins falling towards the ocean.</p><p>He's about to fly towards her in an attempt to poof her (although it almost definitely won't work since she still has her eyes on him) when he feels an impact on his left side, sending him and whatever object hit him skidding a few feet along the beach. He rises to find a groaning Peridot at his feet struggling to stand; she was sent flying by Lion and happened to collide with him.</p><p>He <em>hates</em> it, he hates <em>himself</em> for it, but Steven knows to take advantage of this opportunity. As she regains her wits and looks up at him in shock, he says: "I love you Peridot, but I've gotta do this. I'm sorry, but I don't expect forgiveness." Her eyes widen in terror, and before she can reply he poofs her with a single punch, promptly bubbling her and sending the bubble away; he knows that it's in the Dondai since that's the closest thing he currently has to a permanent home. He'll have to retrieve the bubble later. <em>"One down,"</em> he thinks, <em>"three to go."</em></p><p>He hears Bismuth yell, "Peridot, no!" as she and the robonoids continue to struggle against Lion, and he hears a scream of rage and horror from out over the ocean; he turns to see Lapis with tears streaming down her face as she yells: "Where the <em>hell</em> did you just send her, you <em>son of a bitch?!?"</em> Steven replies in a cold monotone: "Somewhere you can't get to right now."</p><p>That's the final straw that pushes her over the edge; Lapis <em>snaps</em>. He hears a rumbling from the base of the cliff and knows that Jasper just got back up. But she doesn't make a move to attack just yet, because <em>Lapis is truly enraged</em> and anyone who knows her realizes <em>exactly</em> what that means.</p><p>"I <em>hate</em> you, I <em>hate</em> you, <em>I fucking hate you</em>, I'll <em>never</em> forgive you," Lapis shrieks, "I don't give a damn that you were my first friend ever; I'll <em>destroy</em> you for that, Steven!" Steven winces, but once again he can't hold Lapis' rage and aggression against her. He knows that she has a lot of trauma associated specifically with being poofed; seeing her <em>former</em> best friend poof her other best friend must have opened up that old wound.</p><p>He knows that there's another, more horrible reason why she's so angry, and why she has <em>every right</em> to be furious: He may have regulated his power carefully enough that he <em>didn't</em> shatter Peridot, but he poofed her while still in Pink State (he can't risk exiting the form with Lapis around) and knowing that if he used just a bit too much power, he <em>could</em> have possibly shattered her from the shockwave of his punch spreading through her hard-light form to her gem.</p><p>He willingly <em>ran the risk</em> of accidentally murdering one of his (former) best friends, and Lapis knows that; no wonder she's so enraged. The fact that Gems can be restored from shattering doesn't change how horrible a fate it is. And the worst thing is, <em>he'll do it again</em> if he has to. <em>"I'm doing it for Connie,"</em> he reminds himself, <em>"there's no room for doubt."</em></p><p>The sea churns violently below Lapis and the ground begins to rumble; the <em>entire surface of the Earth</em> shakes with her fury as the planet's entire ocean is affected, and Bismuth and Lion stop what they're doing for just a moment to gaze up at her in awe along with Jasper. The seasoned warriors know they shouldn't let themselves become distracted, but Lapis' fury is too awe-inspiring.</p><p>Steven, however, takes advantage of that opening; rather than attacking Lapis, he decides to get rid of one more <em>distraction</em>. He <em>speeds up</em> again and appears right in front of Bismuth. Before anyone can process what's happening, he says "I'm sorry Bismuth, I love you" and poofs her with a punch, immediately bubbling and sending her off. He simultaneously seizes the opportunity to take out the remaining robonoids with a few flying shields; he has a new job for Lion that will require the feline's full attention.</p><p>When the day began, Steven was rusty, his skill as a fighter and his mind for tactics a shadow of what they once were. But today's events have brought him back up to speed as if his skill and tactical acumen were instincts waiting to be reawoken. He knows that Jasper and Lapis both believed him still rusty, and he took advantage of the opening they gave him to poof Bismuth. Jasper's and Lapis' eyes widen and their jaws hang slack, both of them in a momentary state of shock at how <em>coldhearted</em> and <em>un-Steven-like</em> his tactic was.</p><p>Steven feels like a truly terrible person, but he'll do whatever he has to do for his soulmate's sake. "Lion," Steven says, "keep Jasper at bay for as long as you can, but back off if you have to; don't go dying on me."</p><p>Jasper snaps out of her daze, screams with rage, and charges towards Steven, but Lion intercepts her and they become tangled up in a fierce brawl. Jasper isn't just angry at Steven, she's angry at <em>herself</em> for her negligence as a warrior.</p><p><em>"I could've blocked his attack on Bismuth if I didn't waste my time staring up at Lapis like a slack-jawed lovestruck moron,"</em> she thinks, <em>"dammit, I need to help Lapis pummel Steven into the dirt, but this stupid cat is in my way!"</em></p><p>Lapis recovers from her state of shock and loses herself to her rage even further: "You MOTHERFUCKER," she screams as water surges and swirls up around her body and the world shakes once more, "you'll <em>pay</em> for that, YOU... WILL... <em>PAY!"</em></p><p>Steven flies towards her, <em>screams</em>, and flings a quadruple-layered hexagonal shield at her in an attempt to stop what he knows is about to happen, but Lapis cancels out the scream with a wall of water, destroys the shield with a projectile of highly compressed ice, and summons a <em>massive</em> wave of superheated boiling water that rams into him and <em>explodes</em>.</p><p>He's sent crashing back down onto the beach choking and coughing up the water that went down his throat. He feels the pain of second and even third-degree burns all over his body and inside his throat; that steam-explosion was even hotter than Alexandrite's flames.</p><p>He regains his footing as he heals his burns and sees that she's completed her <em>ultimate technique</em>, the one he's only seen once before when she took on that pair of other Lapises, the technique that he always <em>suspected</em> was developed specifically for taking on the Diamonds even before she told him so today. This technique turns her into a nearly unstoppable juggernaut by compensating for her body's relative lack of physical strength and durability. This is what he wanted to prevent. <em>"I shouldn't have held back so much,"</em> he thinks.</p><p>Lapis looms above him at the center of a massive simulacrum of her body composed of water; it towers over him while wielding a massive spear in its right hand. The technique is even more terrifying than the last time he saw it, as this time around the spear is <em>boiling</em> and emitting steam. In the left hand, she materializes a boiling whip.</p><p>She sneers down at him and speaks from the mouth of the gigantic figure in a booming voice full of contempt: "You're going to <em>regret</em> using such heartless tactics against Peridot and Bismuth! This technique has <em>no weaknesses</em>, and I'm about to show you why it doesn't mean <em>jack shit</em> to me that you beat Alexandrite or that you're a Diamond, you little <em>punk</em>!"</p><p>To Steven's shock and dismay, it turns out that <em>she still isn't done;</em> from the ocean emerges an entire <em>army</em> of <em>clones</em> of himself, Lion, and Jasper, too many for him to even count. He'd forgotten about her ability to create duplicates of anyone currently "reflected" within line-of-sight of her water-constructs.</p><p><em>"Holy fucking shit,"</em> Steven thinks, <em>"she really wasn't kidding about training to fight the Diamonds. She can probably take down any of them if she's found a way to deal with Yellow's destabilizing-bolts and White's mind-beams, and she can definitely beat Blue. I've gotta get serious, I need to take her down before Jasper beats Lion and gets to her."</em> His pupils turn white and take on the shape of diamonds as he unleashes even more of his Diamond-aura than when he fought Alexandrite.</p><p>Luckily for Steven, he knows the weakness of Lapis' water-clones which can otherwise regenerate from all damage: Sound waves. He <em>screams;</em> a crater forms at his feet, and all the clones within a fifty-foot radius or so are blasted into nothingness.</p><p>And yet, more clones keep coming. He darts around and forms hexagonal shields to avoid and block the attacks of the Jasper-clones with their crash-helmets and the Lion-clones with their pounces and swipes, but those are only a distraction; he's blindsided by a right hook to his jaw by one of the clones of himself, and he's shocked to find that the clone is slightly more powerful and at least as fast as his base-level Pink State.</p><p>While none of them are as powerful or fast as his "Diamond-Eyes Mode," the entire <em>army</em> of Steven-clones is certainly a threat. He keeps screaming at them while blocking their attacks with barriers, but more clones keep emerging from the ocean as quickly as he destroys them.</p><p>Several of them manage to slip past his barriers and land blows on him, with the damage accumulating faster than he can heal it over the course of a few seconds during the high-speed battle; large cuts form on his skin, massive bruises form and some of his organs take damage, and he feels his bones start to fracture. He's bleeding profusely. As he focuses on blocking the clones' attacks, Lapis thrusts the gigantic boiling spear in his direction while simultaneously bringing the whip down upon him.</p><p>Steven has to unleash more power; he <em>speeds up</em> further and screams again, this time <em>as loudly as he can </em>despite the protests of his injured body. The scream <em>devastates</em> the landscape around him, generating an earthquake powerful enough that the <em>entire world</em> shakes once more.</p><p>The scream completely annihilates the entire army of clones, although he reminds himself that Lapis can generate more at any time. A massive crater forms at his feet and cracks spread from the base of the already-damaged Lighthouse Hill's cliffside; the entire hill collapses.</p><p>Steven worries about Jasper's and Lion's proximity to his scream, but he knows they're both too durable to have been killed. He also can't help but worry about Beach City, and he's glad that Peridot sent Mayor Nanefua an evacuation order. But he hardly has time to worry about that; the scream causes the forms of the spear and whip to waver slightly and momentarily slows them down, but Lapis grits her teeth with determination and the two weapons continue to barrel towards him at a speed rivaling his own.</p><p>He raises a <em>double-layered</em> barrier of interlocking hexagonal plates just in the nick of time, and the spear and whip slam into it with a literally Earth-shaking crash, exploding into a cloud of steam that billows upwards in a mushroom cloud.</p><p>While the barrier groans from the force of the attack, Lapis feels it hold without breaking. "DAMN YOU Steven, DAMN you and your stupidly durable fucking <em>Diamond</em>-barriers," she screams, "take THIS, you little BASTARD!" She extends her arms in front of her with her palms open, and her water-figure mimics the action. Steven flies towards her out of the dissipating cloud of steam, and she fires a barrage of attacks at him from the massive figure's palms.</p><p>The attacks are varied in nature: There are straight-line high-pressure streams of boiling water and steam superheated to temperatures rivaling the surface of the sun, boiling water-bullets, and bullets, spikes, and blades of highly compressed ice cooled to nearly absolute zero.</p><p>From the surface of the ocean down below, chains of water fly upwards in an attempt to capture and restrain him. Two years ago, he was immensely grateful for Lapis' ability to chain him down, but now he can't afford to get caught. It seems as if she's aiming to kill him; she probably is, she did say she'd "destroy" him after all.</p><p>But Steven is serious now, and he's in his strongest form; Lapis' attacks have speed and power on-par with his own, but with immense concentration and effort, he manages to weave and dodge between many of them while rapidly generating shields and screaming to deflect or destroy most others.</p><p>But a few of the projectiles do hit him, and he once again begins to accumulate damage faster than he can heal. He sustains multiple wounds and broken bones, but he manages to avoid being impaled by any of the blades or spikes and pushes onward through the pain. He's steadily approaching her in mid-air, making his way towards where she floats in the center of the gigantic water-figure.</p><p>Lapis summons all of her immense willpower and concentration. "You little <em>shithead </em>of a Diamond," she screams, "that's <em>it</em>, I'm going to <em>end</em> you even if it's the last thing I do!" As she says that, she stops firing attacks.</p><p>Spikes of boiling water and ice protrude from the water-figure's massive hands; she brings them both to the figure's right side and clasps them together, then swings them towards him in a double-handed hammer fist strike. She puts <em>all</em> of her power and speed into this one, single, all-out attack; true to her word, she <em>is</em> aiming to <em>kill</em> him.</p><p>Steven responds by going <em>all out</em>, releasing his <em>full</em> power-output in his present state and generating a massive spiked barrier that surrounds him on three sides covering a 180-degree angle just like he did against Jasper two years ago. But rather than tossing it, he <em>expands</em> the barrier in all three directions while <em>screaming</em> to propel the barrier with even more force.</p><p>At the moment the barrier comes into contact with the water-figure's clasped fists to his left side and the figure's torso in front of him, he bursts it; Lapis may be aiming for the kill due to her all-consuming rage, but he still wants to avoid shattering her if he can. Although of course, he can't be <em>sure</em> that this attack won't shatter her.</p><p>The attack is <em>enough</em> in the sense that the force of the barrier bursting and the scream-shockwave behind it completely destroys Lapis' gigantic water-simulacrum, dissipates her wings, and stuns her. While frustrated that the attack didn't poof her, Steven is immensely grateful that it didn't shatter her; he'd rather hold back too much than not enough in this case.</p><p>Besides, she's knocked out, falling, and completely open to his next attack. He deactivates Pink State and throws a normal shield at her to poof her, forming another shield at his feet and jumping off of it so he can catch her gem once she poofs; he won't risk accidentally shattering her with the power of Pink State, not if he doesn't <em>have</em> to take that risk.</p><p>But moments before he can reach her, something heavy impacts him from behind and to his right, and the imposing figure of Jasper takes a mighty leap from the edge of the shore and grabs Lapis in midair, the shield breaking harmlessly against Jasper's durable form. His decision to deactivate Pink State was yet one more costly mistake; it seems that for every time he manages to harden his heart and coldly do what he must, there's a time when his desire to hold back against his friends handicaps him in this battle.</p><p>The impact distracts Steven, and he reflexively turns to his right and grabs whatever hit him only to find that the object is Lion, heavily battered and unconscious but thankfully still alive. But Steven can feel Lion's aura rapidly fading as he bleeds out from a multitude of wounds, and he panics. Steven isn't sure whether a creature resurrected by the power of the Pink Diamond gemstone can be revived from the dead a second time, and he isn't keen on <em>testing</em> whether it's possible. He goes Pink again and flies back down to the shoreline, placing Lion gently at his feet.</p><p>He <em>knows</em> he's giving his two remaining foes an opening and he knows <em>exactly</em> what they'll do with that opening, but it doesn't matter: He'll <em>never</em> forgive himself if he just <em>lets</em> Lion die, and Connie will be <em>heartbroken</em> if Lion dies. Lion has been his steadfast companion in this situation, willing to do anything to help him save Connie.</p><p>Getting a better look at him, Steven is horrified to see that most of the right side of Lion's chest is caved inwards, with the sharp edges of broken ribs protruding through his skin and fur as he bleeds profusely. There are cuts and bruises covering much of the rest of Lion's body as well, and his back left leg is broken. Jasper is a monstrously powerful brawler.</p><p>Steven's own wounds have healed by now, and he wastes no time in leaning down to plant a kiss on Lion's side; he can only hope that his healing spit works on Pink-revived creatures. To his immense relief, the spot he kissed sparkles with magic, and Lion's broken bones set back into place as his wounds heal within moments. Lion awakens and looks up at Steven with a sorrowful, regretful expression that says he's sorry he couldn't hold Jasper back for just a bit longer, and then looks out at the ocean behind Steven with dismay written all over his face.</p><p>Steven hears a tremendous commotion from the sea behind him and sees the beach around him momentarily illuminated by a light brighter than the early morning sun, and he knows exactly what that means. Steven affectionately pets and ruffles Lion's mane and says: "Don't worry buddy, it's okay. You tried your hardest for Connie, and I'm grateful; I'm just glad you're okay now. Leave the rest to me. I won't fail her." His expression settles into one of fierce, grim determination.</p><p>Steven turns around while once more activating his "Diamond-Eyes Mode." The towering figure of Malachite looms over him. At that moment, he decides there's no more room for <em>doubt</em>, no more room for taking <em>risks</em> like <em>holding back;</em> he was a <em>fool</em> to hold back so many times against Lapis.</p><p>If he <em>really</em> wants to succeed today, if he <em>truly</em> wants to save Connie no matter what, then he'll become <em>a true Diamond</em> in the style of Eras 1 and 2. He'll become completely coldhearted and pragmatic, doing whatever is necessary to achieve his goals. He can't afford to have <em>compassion</em> or show <em>mercy</em> until his foes are soundly defeated; today's events aren't just a battle, they're a <em>war</em>, and <em>sentimentality</em> is nothing but a <em>weakness</em> that will hold him back. He remembers what Aquamarine and Eyeball are doing to Connie, and <em>embraces his rage</em> as he glares up at the massive fusion standing before him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know the power-scaling in this franchise was extremely inconsistent, but here I decided to go with the high-end of what we were shown (multi-continental/planetary-surface level) from the franchise's god-tiers. It makes for more epic anime-like battles (heh), but more importantly, the concept of Steven, as a Diamond, being able to shake entire worlds works better for some of the upcoming themes I plan to explore with his character arc in this story. The high-end stuff in the series was: Lapis casually stole the entire ocean while cracked, Malachite struggling against her bonds underwater generated worldwide earthquakes, the Diamonds' corrupting-light covered the planet's entire surface, the Cluster's partial-awakening shook the Earth, etc.</p><p>Yes, I had Lapis cuss and say "fuck." A lot. And I also had her outright aim for the kill against Steven before fusing with Jasper mellows her out a bit as Malachite (yeah, it's a bit ironic that Jasper, of all people, is the more pacifistic one in a situation). I did all that because Lapis was understandably <em>pissed off</em>. I <em>love</em> Lapis, she's easily one of my <em>top three or four favorite characters</em> in the series, but as Steven noted to himself in this chapter, she has major trust issues and anger issues thanks to the nature of her very, very serious trauma.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Put His Whole Body Into It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven battles Malachite and it's predictably epic, taking up nearly half of the chapter while including plenty of angst on Malachite's and Steven's parts. The rest of the chapter also includes heaping helpings of angst.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Malachite's form looks quite different than it did over four years ago, but Steven already knew that; he's friends with Jasper and Lapis after all, although Lapis clearly no longer considers him a friend, and he doubts that Jasper does either. He, Connie, and Stevonnie have hung out plenty of times with this version of Malachite, the version that came about once Jasper and Lapis moved beyond their past toxicity towards each other and developed a healthy relationship.</p><p>Her face looks like it once did, but she now stands on two legs, has four arms, and speaks in a single voice. She sneers down at him, taunting him by throwing his own thoughts right back in his face:</p><p>"Well Steven, it looks like your resolve as a warrior wasn't enough, was it? You held back too much and were easily distracted. If you wanted to win, you should've hardened your heart like Lapis did. Because Lapis and Jasper have trained, and because I'm a healthy fusion born of love, I'm <em>far</em> more powerful than when you last saw me fight. You <em>can't win</em> this battle. So I'm gonna give you an out:"</p><p>"Give up, return everyone you've bubbled, and <em>apologize</em>. Track down Aquamarine and Eyeball; they may kill Connie, but you can just resurrect her as a Pink Human." Steven's jaw hangs slack and his eyes widen in shock upon hearing her words, and she continues:</p><p>"If you do all that and help rebuild the Temple, then I'm sure everyone will eventually forgive you. I'm being <em>very generous</em> right now; Lapis is still itching to kill you and Jasper is on the fence. But <em>I'm</em> not either of <em>them</em>, I'm the embodiment of their love and the balance between them, and I'm willing to give you <em>one chance</em> to make this <em>right</em>. It's the only logical course of action since you can't trust hostage-takers t-"</p><p>Her words <em>enrage</em> Steven, and he snaps out of his shock and cuts her off with an angry tirade: "<em>Hell no</em>, Malachite! And <em>fuck you</em> for saying I should let Connie die! I don't know how to control my resurrection powers or how they even work, and I don't how much damage they can heal someone from! What if Eyeball cuts Connie's head off?! I <em>refuse</em> to let her die, I'm not gonna <em>gamble</em> on whether I can revive her or not!"</p><p>"If she dies and I <em>can</em> revive her, then she'll age super-slowly like Lars and Lion and outlive all her human friends! That's part of why Lars couldn't stand living on Earth anymore and it's probably why Lion is such a loner! If there's <em>any</em> chance <em>at all</em> that I can save Connie, then I <em>have</em> to <em>try</em>!" Lion huffs in agreement.</p><p>Malachite's own eyes now widen in shock as she's rendered speechless. Steven continues with his rant, which is as much about venting as it is a <em>strategy</em> to recover the stamina he lost due to holding back too much and taking so much damage from Lapis:</p><p>"You're a damn <em>hypocrite;</em> it's not like Jasper or Lapis wouldn't do the same in my position if the other was a hostage. At least <em>Garnet</em> was able to <em>understand</em> why I'm doing all this, and I figured <em>you</em> would understand too, but Lapis' and Jasper's anger has blinded you."</p><p>"You're so fucking <em>arrogant</em> believing that you know what everyone thinks! Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl said they <em>already</em> forgive me, even though they might never be able to look at or talk to me again."</p><p>"As for you, Lapis, Jasper, Bismuth, and Peridot, I know that none of you will be able to look at me anymore and that some of you, especially Lapis, might never forgive me. But Connie is my <em>soulmate</em>, the <em>love of my life</em>, and no matter how much it hurts, I'll throw away my relationships with <em>all of you</em> for her sake!"</p><p>"And as long as we're being so damn <em>honest</em> and since Lapis obviously already figured it out: Yeah, I'll even <em>risk accidentally shattering</em> Gems, even though I'll keep <em>trying</em> not to, if it's for Connie's sake!" Malachite's expression momentarily turns slightly fearful; that fear surely comes from Jasper's side at the mention of accidental shattering.</p><p>Just as he hoped, she's shocked enough by his tirade that she just stands there listening to it; he's buying the time he needs to gather power. He feels the Diamond-energy welling up within him as he fully embraces his rage and finishes:</p><p>"You said I should've hardened my heart, and you're <em>right;</em> from now on I <em>am</em> hardening my heart! Get ready, 'cause you're about to see my power as a <em>true Diamond</em>, my power when I <em>stop holding back</em> and don't make any stupid <em>mistakes</em> like having <em>compassion</em> during battle!"</p><p>"Sure, you've got Lapis' hydrokinetic power and Jasper's immense physical prowess; you're greater than the sum of your parts, and I can <em>sense</em> your aura's intensity. You're a lot more powerful than the other Diamonds, which is incredible but <em>doesn't matter</em> since <em>I'm</em> the strongest Diamond! I'm the mightiest being in the cosmos, I'm practically a <em>god</em>, and you're just another obstacle in my path!"</p><p>Malachite growls angrily; she <em>refuses</em> to entertain the thought that at least <em>some</em> of Steven's points may be valid, and she responds: "Since when did <em>you</em> ever view <em>power</em> as making someone <em>superior</em> to others?! Since when did <em>you</em> ever have a god-complex? <em>You're</em> the one who taught Lapis, Jasper, and the other Diamonds not to see things that way."</p><p>"You're <em>not</em> a <em>god</em>, you're just a cocky little <em>punk</em> who's lost sight of his morals by letting his power go to his head! <em>Somebody</em> has to put you in your place and knock some sense back into you, and that'll be <em>me!</em> I <em>gave</em> you a <em>chance</em> to do the right thing, so <em>don't say I didn't warn you</em> when I beat you into submission!"</p><p>She dons her crash-helmet and with a gesture from her four hands she raises a quartet of water-arms from the ocean; two arms have fists composed of compressed ice, and two of them have fists of superheated boiling water.</p><p>Steven focuses on his unbridled rage in order to maximize his power; he's still <em>incensed</em> that Malachite suggested he simply allow Connie to die, and he channels that emotion into his gem to bring its power to new heights. The power of the Pink Diamond gemstone is amplified by emotions, after all. Maybe Malachite is right about him losing sight of his morals, but Steven doesn't give a damn about that as long as he can save Connie.</p><p>His anger peaks and his pink glow intensifies; perhaps even this isn't his <em>actual</em> limit, but he reaches what <em>feels</em> like his current full power, and it feels like even more than when he transformed into a monster. He can sense that his aura is <em>a bit</em> stronger than Malachite's; this will be an extremely difficult battle given her versatility and incredible durability, but he knows he can win as long as he doesn't let any weaknesses like sentimentality hold him back.</p><p>Malachite materializes her wings from her back and flies up into the air; Steven activates his super-speed again and flies towards her to go on the offensive, flinging a five-layered hexagonal shield towards her while screaming to propel it, simultaneously encasing his right fist in a bubble and drawing it back.</p><p>However, she reacts quickly and meets his combination of techniques with her own, performing a spin-dash towards him, helmet-first, while bringing all four water-fists down upon him; the water-fists collide with his scream-propelled barrier. All four fists explode upon impact with the barrier, which in turn shatters into pieces, the collision generating a massive steam-explosion.</p><p>Steven's bubble-encased punch meets Malachite's headbutt in the middle of the cloud of steam, and his fist pushes against her helmet. Both opponents stay suspended in midair for a fraction of a second before the bubble on his fist pops and the left spike on her helmet breaks off from the shockwave of their collision. Each of them is sent flying backward from the impact; Steven feels the bones in his right hand and arm shatter as a chunk of Malachite's hair is blown off and a large scuff appears on the left side of her face.</p><p>Malachite is sent flying high into the air, and Steven crashes down into the beach below so hard that his impact generates a massive crater and an earthquake, but he manages to land on his feet while bending at the knees to avoid breaking his legs. Malachite skids to a halt and rights herself in midair before reaching the lower stratosphere.</p><p>She and Steven are both furious, but unlike Lapis who lost control of herself earlier, both she and Steven <em>channel</em> and <em>direct</em> their rage to gain focus. Neither actually <em>aims</em> for the kill like Lapis did, but they still hold nothing back; they can't <em>afford</em> to hold back, so each thinks that if the other dies, then <em>so be it</em>. They'll do what they must. Malachite performs another spin-dash, careening down towards Steven like an asteroid.</p><p>Once she's close enough for him to clearly see her, he screams at full power once again, but this time he <em>directs</em> his scream in a cone of soundwaves and pink energy pointed straight towards her. The scream hits her and her hard-light form begins to take damage and waver. The remaining spike on her helmet cracks and more of her hair is blown away.</p><p>But she draws upon the immense willpower of her two components and grits her teeth, flapping her wings to propel her spin-dash and actually <em>speeding up</em>, barreling straight through Steven's conical scream-attack as she continues to take damage. <em>"I'll reach that little fucker and put a stop to him all costs,"</em> she thinks, <em>"I have to, for the sake of all Gem-kind!"</em></p><p>As she gets close, Steven raises a domed barrier and braces himself, and Malachite summons water from the ocean that envelops her form, powering-up her spin-dash even further by using her hydrokinesis.</p><p>She slams into Steven's barrier with incredible force, and it groans under the pressure before breaking; but at the moment it breaks, Steven summons another five-layered hexagonal shield and once again flings it forward while screaming. Malachite, still shrouded in water, crashes into the shield and pushes it towards Steven, and Steven strains to push back against her as he continues screaming.</p><p>Steven raises the volume of his scream to its maximum and crosses his arms in front of him to guard against Malachite's attack; bringing her power to its maximum, Malachite pushes his shield back into him and it shatters against him, her headbutt colliding with his crossed arms. At the same moment, his scream blows away her cloak of water and begins dealing immense damage to her at such close range.</p><p>Malachite's and Steven's clash generates a massive shockwave that once again shakes the entire surface of the Earth, only this time even more violently than when Steven and Lapis faced off.</p><p>Malachite is blown back by Steven's scream and sent flying some distance before landing in the ocean; both of her helmet's spikes are now broken off, her outfit is torn in many places, and she has extensive damage all over her body. Unfortunately for Steven, it'll take more than this to de-fuse her; back when she was an unstable fusion born of resentment and distrust, Lapis alone was able to hold her together with her immense will. With Lapis and Jasper working together to keep Malachite stable, she's unimaginably resilient.</p><p>The entire beach is now part of a massive crater with a surface of melted glass, with Steven lying in its center embedded deeply into the ground. He too took immense damage; both of his arms are shattered and he coughs up a torrent of blood, feeling broken ribs puncturing his lungs. He feels like he's bleeding internally from other organs as well. He's in <em>extreme</em> pain. Lion looks on with great concern from a distance, but he knows he isn't powerful enough to help. Steven's clothes are heavily damaged, although he isn't yet in danger of appearing truly indecent.</p><p>But there are certain advantages that come with being a hybrid with an organic body and the Pink Diamond gemstone at his core, one of those advantages being that he heals faster than pure Gems. He focuses once more on his rage to summon power.</p><p><em>"That cocky bitch,"</em> he thinks, <em>"first she tells me to let Connie die and acts like she can read all the other Gems' minds, and then she goes and fucking breaks my arms and ribs and stars know what else! My body doesn't have time to rest, not when I need to kick her ass... HEAL, dammit!"</em> It drains stamina, but his body heeds his mind's command, drawing power from his gem and quickly healing his numerous severe injuries. He puts off healing the bruises, surface cuts, and general soreness until later.</p><p>As Malachite rises to her feet on shaky legs and stands a short distance from the shore, she's dismayed by what she sees: Standing within the glassy and smoking crater that was once the beach is Steven, bleeding from various wounds but appearing slightly less damaged than her. He pants heavily from exertion, but he stands on legs as steady as a rock.</p><p>Steven can sense that Malachite's aura has grown a bit weaker, while his is as strong as ever; his organic body may feel thrashed, sore, and tired, but magical energy continues to pour seemingly without limit from the diamond within his navel. He smirks; if he keeps this up, he'll definitely win this fight, and then the Diamonds will be next.</p><p>Malachite sees how Steven stands steadily while she wobbles, she sees how he smiles, and her form wavers as she experiences doubt. Jasper and Lapis briefly express their insecurities to one another within their Fusion Realm:</p><p>Lapis concedes that <em>maybe</em> Malachite <em>is</em> arrogant, maybe she <em>isn't</em> entirely in the right here. And Jasper concedes that <em>maybe</em> Steven was right about practically being a <em>god</em>. Perhaps might <em>does</em> make right, even though Steven himself never believed that before now and taught everyone else to reject such a viewpoint. And perhaps Steven is just <em>too mighty</em> for <em>anyone</em> to handle.</p><p>Lapis ashamedly admits to Jasper that she, at least, certainly <em>wasn't</em> in the right when she <em>intentionally aimed for the kill</em> earlier. But despite the doubt and hesitation within her own heart, Jasper reassures Lapis that it <em>doesn't matter</em> who's in the right here: What matters is that there are two sides, Gem-kind and Steven, and there's <em>no room for doubt</em> about the ethics of the situation.</p><p>With renewed confidence, Lapis assures Jasper that <em>her</em> doubts are unfounded as well: Steven is no god, he's simply gone mad and let his power go to his head, abandoning his principles as a way to cope with what he sees as his duty to save Connie. Malachite was right about that, and she owes it not just to the universe, but to Steven and Connie as well, to knock some sense back into him. She's the only one powerful enough to do so. <em>"Malachite is the strongest,"</em> they think in unison, <em>"and she will prevail."</em></p><p>Steven sees Malachite's form waver; a precious opening. With a cold look upon his face, he flies towards her once again, this time with his palms held at his sides and facing forward with five-layered hexagonal shields held in each palm. He adds spikes to the shields as he flies forward, and also materializes a spiked barrier upon his forehead; Jasper and Malachite aren't the only ones who can use a helmet.</p><p>Her internal debate over and her confidence restored, Malachite recovers from her brief stupor and reacts to Steven's assault by raising a triple-layered barrier of water; the front layer is ice, the middle layer is room-temperature water, and the rear layer is boiling.</p><p>Steven uses a palm thrust with the shield in his left hand and a scream to smash right through the three-layered water barrier (the shield shattering in the process), and Malachite grits her teeth and thrusts her head forward to headbutt him; Steven continues <em>screaming</em> and meets her headbutt with a palm-thrust utilizing the shield in his right hand and a headbutt of his own utilizing his barrier-helmet.</p><p>Steven's barrier-helmet and his shield shatter on impact, and he's sent backward a few dozen feet but skids to a halt and steadies himself in midair; Malachite's helmet cracks and she's sent flying backward <em>hundreds</em> of feet. Steven definitely overpowered her in that clash.</p><p>Steven's head aches from the headbutt that shattered his barrier-helmet, and he thinks he might have a skull fracture, but he ignores that for the time being as he goes on the offensive. Just as Malachite regains her bearings, he flies towards her and <em>screams</em> at full power, shaking the world again. The moment before the sound and pink energy can reach her, she manages to summon water from the ocean below and wrap herself in it like a shroud once more, hardening the outer layer into ice.</p><p>Steven's scream shatters the ice and blows away the water surrounding her, but the shroud lessens the impact of his scream so that while it further damages her, it doesn't de-fuse her.</p><p>Steven forms a bubble around his right fist and summons another five-layered pink hexagonal shield in front of his left hand, planning to hit her as hard as he can with both attacks and hopefully end this. However, what he didn't notice was that when she summoned her water-shroud, she also formed a quartet of chains from the water below and behind him.</p><p>Before he can reach her, the four chains fly up and their manacles fuse together into a single restraint that wraps around him and locks him in place in the midair, stopping him in his tracks. The manacle tightens and <em>boils</em>, shattering the bubble on his right hand and the shield in his left as it threatens to squeeze all the air out of his lungs and break all of his bones.</p><p>He feels a few of his ribs fracture again as he sustains burns all over his body. Boiling water rises up around his face, threatening to push its way into his throat and drown him. Malachite grins, thinking <em>"I've got the little bastard now,"</em> as she forms another shroud of water around herself and charges towards him in a spin-dash.</p><p>But even though the restraints took him by surprise at first, even though he can feel his bones breaking, Steven's facial expression remains eerily cold and calm. He lets loose the air remaining in his lungs to scream once again, and it blows away the water around his face threatening to drown him while causing the manacles around his torso to waver and loosen somewhat.</p><p>He takes in a deep breath at super-speed and simultaneously forms a skin-tight barrier around his body and tattered clothing. He flexes all of his muscles as hard as he can, despite the strain of those muscles pulling on his broken bones, and expands the barrier; the combination of his physical strength and the barrier blows away and destroys the water-manacles restraining him.</p><p>Just before Malachite reaches him, he directs another Earth-shaking full-powered scream at her, which once again blows away her water-shroud although she continues to barrel towards him. But at the same time, he takes the barrier around his body and reshapes and expands it into a massive spiked wall in front of him, sending it careening towards her. The spiked pink wall of hard-light collides with Malachite's helmet. The barrier shatters, but so does Malachite's crash-helmet, and she's sent flying backward and yells; her head <em>hurts</em>.</p><p>Steven once again coughs up blood; his organs are damaged again thanks to the crushing force of Malachite's water-manacles and how he flexed all of his muscles in spite of his broken bones. But he doesn't take the time to heal any of his new injuries; hardening his heart as he resolved to do, he pushes through the severe pain and once again goes on the offensive, charging towards Malachite at full speed with both of his fists bubbled. He's going to take this opportunity to bring her down before she can rematerialize her helmet.</p><p>Malachite rights herself in the air only to see Steven right in her face, and her expression settles into one of shock and terror. She can see that he won't give her time to summon water or her helmet. He connects with a massive right hook to her left jaw with his bubbled fist and feels her jaw break. She's sent flying to his left, and he turns his head and screams at her again, ignoring the nearly blinding pain in his lungs (they're definitely punctured) as he puts everything he has into the scream in order to deal maximum damage.</p><p>She's sent flying further as more pieces of her hair and clothing are blown away and new bruises form all over her body. She feels both of her left arms break. As Steven flies towards her again, she swings both of her right fists at him, and he summons a barrier to block her punches. But the barrier is weaker than before since he's damaging himself further by pushing onwards without healing his injuries; the barrier shatters and her fists collide with him and send him flying.</p><p>Malachite lowers herself to the ocean's surface; her form is battered and bruised, her left arms hang limply at her side, and she's only barely managing to hold herself together. Nevertheless, she materializes a new copy of her crash-helmet and raises a portion of the ocean with a gesture of her right arms. She forms the water into a variety of boiling and icy projectiles and flings them at Steven, and then once more shrouds herself in water and spin-dashes towards him, intending to headbutt him the moment after her hydrokinetic projectiles connect with him.</p><p>Steven was sent flying in a wide arc and lands upon the ocean's surface only to skip across it like a skilfully tossed stone. His body hurts all over from profusely bleeding cuts, broken bones, and internal bleeding. His <em>lungs</em> especially hurt like hell, and he knows that any further screaming will outright <em>shred</em> them. But one thought keeps him focused and grounded: <em>"Connie."</em> He grits his teeth, swallows back the blood rising in his throat, and summons his power of flight to bring himself skidding to a stop, rising to his feet and standing upon the water's surface.</p><p>He sees Malachite's projectiles heading straight towards him as she follows right behind them with her new helmet on in a water-shrouded spin-dash. He can't afford to have doubts; he doesn't have time to heal, but he can't let his injuries slow him down. That weaker-than-usual barrier was a <em>fluke</em>, a mistake he won't make again. <em>"I've gotta put my whole body into it,"</em> he thinks. He has to focus on his rage to summon his full power, and he has to stay cold and calculating, <em>hardening his heart</em> like the <em>Diamond</em> he is.</p><p>He speeds up his physiological and mental processes as much as possible and thinks back again to when Malachite told him to simply let Connie die; the rage boils outward from his gem once again, enshrouding him in power as he glows an even brighter pink. He will <em>end</em> this <em>right now</em>, injuries be damned. He may <em>appear</em> more injured than Malachite, but she's on the verge of falling apart while he can heal quickly once he has the time.</p><p>A huge gout of blood (and perhaps a few chunks of his lungs) spews from his throat as he screams at the projectiles, destroying them all with a soundwave and pink energy while ignoring the blinding agony in his chest that would send an ordinary person into shock and unconsciousness. He summons a <em>triple-layered</em> barrier of interlocking hexagons in front of him at the last moment and raises his hands to push against it; it absorbs the impact of Malachite's spin-dash headbutt as he plants his feet against the surface of the ocean.</p><p>She pushes him back only a short distance before he brings her to a halt, and then he bursts the barrier straight towards her and lets loose another bloody scream that sends her flying; the barrier-burst and the scream disperse her water-shroud and shatter her new helmet.</p><p>Malachite knows this is bad, but she's sure she'll have time now to collect herself and go on the offensive again. <em>"Steven's injuries would kill a normal human dozens of times over,"</em> she thinks, <em>"there's no way he can keep going without pausing at all to heal."</em> But as she begins to bring herself to a halt in the air while summoning the concentration to rematerialize her helmet, she's dismayed to find that he <em>doesn't</em> pause or slow down at all.</p><p>All that screaming and the physical exertion of pushing against his barrier to tank Malachite's headbutt did cause Steven's injuries to grow even worse, but that doesn't matter to him. He won't waste even a single nanosecond and he'll take advantage of this opening. He'll take all the pain in the universe and then some if it's for Connie's sake. Malachite tries to rush her recovery, but panics as he unleashes yet another scream-attack towards her and she realizes he simply won't give her the time she needs.</p><p>He flies towards her, continuing to shred his lungs by bloodily screaming to batter her so she can't get her bearings, and summons a quartet of five-layered hexagonal shields that he flings against her with all of his power; he uses one shield each to break her upper right arm, her lower right arm, and each of her legs.</p><p>She howls in pain and collapses to her knees in the shallow water, and he stops screaming as he flies towards her and comes up on her left side so that she's positioned between him and the glassy crater that was once the beach. Malachite has time for one final thought: <em>"It's over,"</em> she thinks, <em>"I failed everyone."</em> Jasper's doubts weren't entirely unfounded: Steven is simply too powerful, and while he isn't <em>truly</em> a god he <em>may as well</em> be one.</p><p>He draws back and armors his right fist, not with a normal bubble but with an interlocking pattern of small hexagons: One layer, two layers, three layers, four layers, then <em>five</em>, and finally <em>spikes</em> protruding from the outermost layer; he knows just how durable she is. He <em>screams</em> at her one last time and swings his fist with <em>all</em> of his power, connecting with her left side below her arms and bursting the barrier against her at the moment of impact.</p><p>The attack generates a massive sonic boom upon impact and shakes the entire surface of the planet more fiercely than ever; all the water in a radius of a few hundred feet is pushed back and rises in a high wall, only to come crashing back inwards as Malachite is sent flying at mind-boggling speed.</p><p>Steven begins to float down towards the water and sees her body destabilize into a mass of white light as she collides with the gigantic pile of rubble that was once the Temple and Lighthouse Hill.</p><p>A massive mushroom-cloud of debris rises from the rubble, and Steven calmly walks across the surface of the ocean and onto the glassy surface of the former beach as the dust begins to settle. He remains in Pink State (but powers down to its "base" level) just in case Lapis and Jasper have any fight left in them, and because he now has the time to heal and wants to regenerate <em>as quickly as possible</em> from the massive damage he's taken. He never knew that physical pain could be <em>this</em> intense.</p><p>His visible wounds mend along with his broken bones and internal organs; it takes him less than a minute to reach the rubble and cloud of dust, and although he's still covered in his own blood, by that point all of his wounds have mended. He still feels <em>exhausted</em>, breathing in ragged pants and sore all over, but the serious pain is gone.</p><p>He lets loose the quietest scream he can in order to clear the cloud of dust for the sake of visibility, and then he sees Lapis and Jasper laying upon the ground about twenty feet in front of him while groaning from pain and exhaustion. He begins to calmly walk towards them with a cold expression upon his face when he sees something that suddenly turns his hardened heart soft again; both of their forms <em>glitch</em>.</p><p>The weight of what he's done crashes down upon his psyche, and it's only by reminding himself again that it's all for Connie's sake that he avoids going insane. He runs towards them in a panic until he's standing over them. Lapis lies upon her back, her eyes open and looking like featureless, glossy mirrors; her form glitches again. Jasper lies upon her side, and he can clearly see the state of the gemstone where her nose would otherwise be.</p><p>He <em>cracked</em> them. He may have managed to <em>avoid</em> accidentally shattering them, but he came horrifyingly <em>close</em> to doing so. He only barely suppresses the urge to vomit.</p><p>Steven reaches down, gently turns Lapis onto her stomach to expose her gem, and licks both of his palms. He knows this is risky, but he just <em>can't</em> leave them like this even if he's going to poof them and put them in stasis in bubbles anyway.</p><p>Remaining in Pink State in case he messes this up and has to immediately poof them, he carefully regulates the flow of his power into his saliva as he applies one hand to each of their gemstones. It works, he controlled his healing power properly; their gemstones mend, but the damage to their forms remains and they still lie fatigued and groaning upon the ground.</p><p>Lapis turns onto her back and rises onto her elbows to glare at him, the hateful look in her eyes piercing into him like a dagger. Jasper props herself up on her elbow and looks up at him with an expression that seems to be a mixture of disdain, reverence, and pity. But the hints of resentment quickly disappear from Jasper's face, leaving only awe and sympathy behind; she sighs and chuckles darkly, and then speaks up before Steven or Lapis. She's far more verbose than usual:</p><p>"Healing our gems to ease your guilty conscience, huh Steven? It's a bit late for that, don't you think? You hardened your heart just like you said and <em>held nothing back</em> against Malachite, nearly shattering us in the process. You truly are a <em>Diamond</em>, Steven."</p><p>He steels his expression as well as he can, but can't hide the look of regret in his glowing pink eyes as she continues:</p><p>"I thought <em>Lapis and I</em> were savages, that <em>Malachite</em> was the ultimate force of destruction, but <em>you</em>... you really are a <em>monster</em>, a <em>god</em> of destruction. You'll burn the <em>whole world</em> to the ground if you have to all for the sake of one person, just like the other Diamonds once planned to do. But I can't say I'm not <em>impressed</em>, Steven; your physical power and combat prowess are <em>unrivaled</em>, and your <em>mental</em> strength surpasses anyone else besides the girl you're fighting to save."</p><p>"Yes, you and Connie are the strongest of all, Steven. There's <em>no turning back</em> now, not after what you've already done for her. So do what you <em>have</em> to do: Stay strong, harden your heart, and <em>don't give up</em>. Defeat the other Diamonds and rescue Connie. I believe in you, I know you can do it. None of that is to say I'm not angry and disgusted with you. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to <em>look</em> at you again after this, but Steven, My Diamond, I... I <em>respect</em> you, and I do <em>forgive</em> you."</p><p>Despite how he tries to harden his expression and his mind, tears begin to flow freely from Steven's eyes and down his face as he replies: "Jasper, I... I'd say I'm sorry, but I guess you already know I am and gave me your answer. I'm not sure if I <em>deserve</em> your forgiveness, but I'll gladly <em>accept</em> it. I understand that what I just did to you probably reopened... old wounds... from a couple years ago."</p><p>Jasper nearly <em>flinches</em> at that statement, and Steven cries all the more as he continues: "It sucks that you won't be able to face me after this, but that's <em>my</em> fault for doing terrible things to you twice over. I'm sorry for what I'm about to do as well. Thank you for the advice: You're right, I need to harden my heart again before facing the Diamonds. What you just went through won't be in vain, I <em>will</em> save Connie. It was really nice being your friend, and I wish that could've lasted longer. Please keep getting better and don't... don't go back to... don't become a <em>war-machine</em> again, don't become like <em>me</em>. I'll always love you Jasper."</p><p>In spite of everything, Steven hesitates. Jasper chuckles again and says, "I love you too Steven, but <em>what</em> are you <em>waiting</em> for? You've got <em>work</em> to do." Steven tearfully nods and materializes a sharp-edged shield that he swings downward with incredible force to poof the absurdly resilient Quartz. He bubbles her, deactivates Pink State (it's not like he needs it anymore for now), and turns towards Lapis.</p><p>Lapis continues to glare up at him with a venomous look full of nothing but contempt and the pain of betrayal. She stays silent; it's as if she's <em>daring</em> him to say something. With tears now pouring from his eyes in rivers, he speaks:</p><p>"I... I'm sorry Lapis... I'm <em>so</em> sorry. You were my <em>very first Gem friend</em> besides Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl... we were <em>Beach Summer Fun Buddies</em>, and I love you so, <em>so</em> much. You <em>know</em> I'll <em>always</em> be grateful to you for holding me down and stopping me from hurting anybody when I was a monster... but now I'm doing what I <em>have</em> to do and becoming a <em>true</em> monster... for Connie. For my soulmate. But I... I really do love you <em>so</em> much, your friendship has always meant the <em>world</em> to me. I'll <em>always</em> love you Lapis, and Connie loves you too!"</p><p>He continues in a pleading tone: "Lapis, after everything we've been through together, after over four years of being friends, can't you at least <em>try</em> to understand why I'm doing this for the person who I love the <em>most</em> in the whole universe? I know that I don't <em>deserve</em> your <em>forgiveness</em>, let alone your <em>friendship</em> anymore, but can't you at least... not <em>hate</em> me... <em>please?</em>"</p><p>Lapis glares even more harshly at him and replies in a tone of pure hostility:</p><p>"<em>Fuck</em> being Beach Summer Fun Buddies, <em>fuck</em> your apologies, <em>fuck</em> your reasons for doing this because they're dumb as shit, and <em>fuck</em> you Steven! Jasper was right, you really <em>are</em> a <em>Diamond</em>, you're a <em>monster</em>. But you're <em>no god</em>, and unlike Jasper, I <em>don't</em> respect you, I <em>don't</em> forgive you, and I <em>despise</em> you!"</p><p>"I <em>know</em> that you and Connie love me, but only Connie's love means jack squat to me since she isn't to blame for this; you can take <em>your</em> love for me and <em>shove it up your ass</em>, Steven! I understand your reasons, but I couldn't give a fuck less about them. Because you may have been <em>right</em> about <em>Jasper</em> when you called Malachite a hypocrite earlier, but you were <em>wrong</em> about <em>me</em>:"</p><p>"No matter how much I love her, I <em>wouldn't</em> do the shit you're doing for Jasper's sake if I was in your position, because I'm not an <em>idiot</em> like you! I'm not <em>naively optimistic</em> and <em>trusting</em> like you and the others, so I don't give a damn about your shitty <em>excuses</em>, you know you can't trus-" He cuts her off by poofing her with a half-hearted punch; he can't bear to hear her finish. He bubbles her and places her and Jasper in Lion's mane.</p><p>And here he'd thought that dealing with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl would be the most emotionally difficult and traumatic of today's battles. <em>"What a fool I was for believing that,"</em> Steven thinks, <em>"even if our relationships are ruined, at least those three and Jasper forgive me. But Lapis hates me, and I deserve it." </em>He stopped crying partway through her diatribe; he feels <em>numb</em>.</p><p>But Steven hardly has time to dwell on that right now, because he has to think about the mission. He's still breathing heavily from the exertion of his battle against Malachite. She <em>really was</em> even more powerful than the Diamonds; he figures that if he was able to handle Malachite's raw power, then the main thing he has to worry about with the Diamonds are their special abilities that circumvent physical power and durability.</p><p>On second thought, maybe the Diamonds' raw power <em>will</em> be a lot of trouble since Steven feels so <em>tired</em>. Not only that, but he'll have to fight them all in a row or possibly even one-on-three. But he figures that as for the fatigue, at least part of it is from hunger and thirst, as his throat feels parched and his stomach growls in protest after he expended so much stamina so quickly. That's something he can quickly remedy.</p><p>Lion senses Steven's desire for a brief period of respite and lays down on his stomach; Steven collapses into a sitting position while using Lion's torso as a cushion to lean back on. He suddenly remembers for a moment how close he came to losing Lion; he bears no grudge against Jasper for that, though. Lion, sensing what else Steven currently requires, inclines his head towards him, and the portion of his mane closest to Steven begins to glow; Steven reaches in and takes out three of the four remaining protein-bars (there's only one left) as well as the water bottle.</p><p>He downs about half the remaining contents of the bottle, ravenously devours the protein bars, and then gulps down the rest of the water. He puts the empty bottle and wrappers back in Lion's mane to deal with later, although he feels silly worrying about littering when he, Lapis, and Malachite did a lot more damage to the planet than a little bit of plastic ever could.</p><p>Steven knows there's no time to waste, but replenishing his energy isn't wasted time when he needs to fight the Diamonds (and anyone on Homeworld who stands in his way) next. He leans back further into his furry companion's side, closes his eyes, and enters Pink State to <em>speed up</em> again.</p><p>As he expected, that does the trick; his accelerated metabolism digests the food and water at a remarkable rate, and he feels much of the soreness in his body dissipate as the nutrients and hydration spread to all of his fatigued cells. He deactivates Pink State just a moment later. He's still thirsty, but he can take care of that soon enough.</p><p>He isn't quite as tired and his soreness has mostly vanished, but he's <em>still</em> breathing heavily. He keeps his eyes closed and spends some time meditating and practicing relaxing breathing-techniques; the breathing-techniques are ones he learned from his therapist, but the meditation is something he learned from Garnet, which is quite ironic considering today's events.</p><p>Once his breathing is completely back to normal, he opens his eyes and rises to his feet, only to get a headrush and nearly fall over. <em>"Yup, definitely dehydrated,"</em> he thinks, <em>"gonna need to take care of that back at the hotel when I go to grab Bismuth and Peri."</em> He turns around to look down at Lion who rose to his feet alongside him. Before moving on, he tells Lion something important, something that he knows <em>Connie</em> would want him to say:</p><p>"<em>Please</em> don't do that again Lion," he says, "don't go that far and put yourself in so much danger! You <em>nearly died</em>, and that scared the <em>shit</em> outta me 'cause I dunno if you can be resurrected again! I know you care about Connie more than anybody else and that you <em>really</em> wanna help me save her, but I <em>told you</em> to back off if things got too rough, and there's a couple really important reasons why!"</p><p>"First, you can't help me do everything I've gotta do to save Connie if you're dead. Second and <em>way more importantly</em>, Connie and I <em>love you a ton</em> and we couldn't bear to lose you! You're <em>so much more</em> to us than just a normal pet, you're our <em>friend</em> and our <em>family</em>, you know that right?" Lion nods with a rare look of open affection on his face, and Steven tears up as he continues:</p><p>"I know you wanted to keep Jasper occupied for as long as you could so I could take Lapis down; but that doesn't matter <em>nearly</em> as much as your <em>life</em>, Lion! You're not just some... some <em>vehicle</em> or a <em>soldier</em>, you're Connie's and my <em>companion</em> and you're <em>not expendable!</em> Do you know how hard it was for me to see you in the... the <em>state</em> Jasper left you in? Just look at you, you're covered in your own blood! Don't do that again! Okay?"</p><p>Lion nods again, and Steven breaks down completely in tears and falls to his knees, burying his face in Lion's mane and hugging him fiercely. He speaks in a muffled voice against Lion's mane as he strokes his fur: "Connie and I love you <em>so</em> much Lion, and we <em>need</em> you in our lives! Please don't leave us, don't go dying on us." Steven rises to his feet, wiping tears from his eyes as he says:</p><p>"I know you can handle yourself and stay out of danger, so <em>promise</em> me you'll survive the battle on Homeworld! You <em>know</em> that <em>I</em> know what it's like to be <em>completely self-sacrificing</em>, and that it's <em>not healthy</em>. Taking care of yourself is important. Promise me you'll survive not <em>just</em> for me and Connie, but also <em>for yourself</em>, okay?"</p><p>Lion nods again, and Steven smiles a bit ruefully down at him as he ruffles Lion's mane with his right hand and says: "Good boy, it's a promise. Now let's go back to the hotel; we've gotta grab Peri and Bismuth and restock on supplies before I continue with the mission."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It's in fact true, as Steven says to Malachite, that Lars and Lion age very slowly (proportionally to their slowed-down heart-rates) but are not, in fact, immortal. Rebecca Sugar said so in the official S.U. podcast.</p><p>Yes, Lapis' diatribe in which she declared her hatred for Steven pretty much <em>broke</em> something inside of him, and in subsequent chapters I'll be exploring how he copes with his broken mental state. But notice that Lapis is still fine with Connie. Lapis is certainly one to hold a grudge and prove unforgiving of betrayal, but she's <em>still a good person</em> and won't hold anything against someone who's blameless. It's painful, but Lapis' feelings are valid; she <em>isn't obligated</em> to forgive Steven or not hate him if she doesn't want to. As for Connie, Lapis still loves her. Her thinking that Steven should prioritize the welfare of the universe over Connie's survival doesn't take away from that.</p><p>To anyone who has trouble picking a side as to whether Lapis or Steven is more in the right in this situation involving Connie: That's okay, because that's my intention here in the sense that this is a very difficult situation with a lot of moral ambiguity to it. One of the themes of this story is to explore morality that comes in shades of gray. That also means that those of you who find yourselves rooting for one side or the other in this conflict are completely valid; feel free to choose a side/stance if you so desire!</p><p>For those of you who find themselves rooting more for Steven: Even I as the author find myself leaning a bit more towards his side. That makes sense since he's the main protagonist of the story. On the other hand, he's developing a god-complex, so any of you who view him as "becoming the villain" are also valid. But that's the thing: If it's to save Connie, then he doesn't care. For her, he'll abandon his morals and become the villain if he has to. "Love makes us do crazy things," as they say.</p><p>As for what Lapis and Malachite tried to tell Steven about the true villains: We have no idea yet whether they're right about that. That's something else that's meant to remain ambiguous for now. Is Lapis just too cynical and pessimistic for her own or anyone else's good? Is Steven a naive idiot? Who knows? I'll neither confirm nor deny anyone's suspicions on the matter.</p><p>Feedback is always welcome, but I understand if people are perhaps rendered speechless by the horrible things in this story 😅</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. When He Has Nothing But the Way He Feels</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Is Steven truly becoming a coldhearted villain, or does he still have a heart of gold? With both her own fate and Steven's mental health hanging precariously in the balance, how will Connie handle this situation when faced with the changes that Steven is undergoing and with an unexpectedly profound question posed to her by Aquamarine? And as he finally heads off to the final battle on Homeworld, will Steven be able to hang on to his sanity and his moral compass for much longer?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's a lot less (but still some) fighting in this chapter, but plenty more angst and drama. This chapter is by far the longest yet, but it's <em>divided into three parts</em> to make it easier to read!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's been over an hour and a half since this incident started, the time now past 7:00am with the sun fully risen. Various humans are heading to or from their cars in the hotel parking lot when Lion suddenly appears through a pink portal with Steven on his back. They're understandably shocked to see a pink lion, his fur matted with blood, leap through a portal while carrying an over-seven-and-a-half-foot-tall heavyset young man with tattered clothes, hair soaked with seawater, and covered in large patches of coagulating blood.</p><p>Lion waits for Steven as he jumps up to his still-open hotel room window on the fourth floor while the humans down below gawk at him. The first thing Steven does when he enters the room is discard his nearly-destroyed outfit and change into a fresh one. He didn't consider that he would take so much clothing damage during these fights, but he <em>should</em> have expected it. He certainly doesn't want to end up naked while fighting the Diamonds.</p><p>He drinks a few glasses of water until he no longer feels thirsty, and grabs two more water-bottles and more protein-bars just to be safe. He doesn't waste any time trying to clean himself up, though. He also grabs another set of clothing and the keys to the Dondai before hopping back out the open window, his arms laden with supplies. He was <em>tempted</em> to grab a joint or two or his vape from his stash of medical marijuana, but wisely chose not to do so. He floats down and lands softly beside Lion, placing all the new supplies except the keys within Lion's mane.</p><p>The humans gather around and hesitantly ask various questions, but they're just <em>background noise</em> to Steven; he doesn't register their words. For now, and <em>possibly indefinitely</em>, his journey to explore "being human" is on hold; for now, he's a <em>Diamond</em>. Lion's near-death and Lapis' declaration of hatred were the final straws that <em>broke</em> something inside of Steven; aside from people he already knows personally and those with power rivaling his own, everyone else seems beneath his notice. Perhaps he <em>has</em> to think in such a way in order to handle the burden of his sins.</p><p>Everyone on Earth felt the planet quake and rumble, and <em>he's </em>responsible for that. All humans except for the ones he already knows and loves are like <em>microorganisms</em> to him; he may as well be their <em>god</em>. He now feels even more <em>alien</em>, even more <em>disconnected</em> from tiny little people like these, than he did when he first started his road-trip a couple of years ago. He suddenly remembers that under the old laws of Eras 1 and 2, he was the <em>owner</em> of this planet; for the first time, he understands the full gravity of that concept.</p><p>With such thoughts in the back of his mind and the babble of the insignificant creatures milling around him serving as a minor annoyance, he walks up to the Dondai's driver-side door and unlocks it; Peridot's and Bismuth's gems float in a pair of pink bubbles above the driver's seat. He gently pulls them out, closes and locks the door, and brings the bubbles over to Lion and places them inside his mane with all the others.</p><p>He hops up onto Lion and says: "Beach City first, Aquamarine can wait; I need to see the damage for myself and at least try to fix it." Lion obeys and they leap through another portal, leaving the crowd of humans behind with no more answers than before; a <em>god</em> needn't answer to those who are <em>beneath</em> him, and a <em>monster</em> needn't answer to those who he can easily <em>trample</em> beneath his feet.</p><p>Steven and Lion arrive at their destination, and it's just as Steven suspected: Beach City is no more. It was too close to the shockwaves and earthquakes from the battles, and is now nothing more than a pile of rubble and splinters. At least no one is dead; Mayor Nanefua's evacuation procedures are thorough and efficient, and the shelter is sturdy and further from the shore.</p><p>He hops off of Lion's back in what was once the center of town, and enters his full-power Pink State with diamond eyes; he knows that his healing powers work on inanimate objects, and he figures this may as well be worth a shot. He kneels down and kisses the ground beneath him, putting as much power into it as he can.</p><p>While the cracks in the ground within a certain radius are mended, and a very large patch of assorted plant life grows around him, none of the buildings are restored. The buildings and their contents are too thoroughly destroyed for him to restore such complex structures, as his healing works somewhat better on living things and natural structures than on artificial constructs. He could restore the buildings if they were <em>partially</em> intact, but he can't do with them destroyed beyond all recognition.</p><p>He sighs and chooses to do something that would be a waste of time if it weren't for the fact that <em>Connie would insist that he do it</em>. He hops back onto Lion and says, "Bring us to the shelter." Lion obeys, and they arrive at the doors to the heavily fortified shelter halfway between what was once the town and the location of Little Homeworld.</p><p>Steven hops off of Lion; the heavy metallic double-doors swing open as he walks towards them, probably because there's a security camera monitoring the entrance. Mayor Nanefua, flanked by four Ruby bodyguards, stands at the entrance, and he can see the residents of the town huddled inside the shelter a short distance behind her. Nanefua speaks:</p><p>"Steven, why are you here when you are supposed to be traveling, and <em>why</em> are you and Lion covered in <em>blood?</em> What in the <em>world</em> is going on? We have been trying to get in touch with the Crystal Gems, bu-"</p><p>Steven cuts her off in a monotone voice with a frigid expression upon his face: "Beach City is destroyed. The Temple and Lighthouse Hill are rubble. Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst, Pearl, Bismuth, Peridot, Jasper, and Lapis are poofed and in bubbles. And it was me, I'm the one who did all of that; I attacked the Crystal Gems. The blood is mine and Lion's."</p><p>"I didn't want to destroy Beach City, but it's still my fault; the Earth shook from the shockwaves during my battles with Lapis and Malachite, and Beach City was too close to the fighting. It's my fault the battle reached Earth-shaking levels: I screwed up and allowed Lapis to show up at the beach. If I'd fought Lapis in Little Homeworld away from the ocean, maybe I could've poofed her sooner, and then Beach City would still be okay."</p><p>Everyone gasps in collective shock, and it takes all of Nanefua's composure to muster up a reply: "Steven... you... you are <em>kidding,</em> right?" Steven replies, "No, Mayor Nanefua, I wouldn't joke about something like this."</p><p>Nanefua's gaze narrows, and she steps back as her Ruby guards move to form a protective wall in front of her as she responds: "Why, Steven? <em>Why</em> would you do such horrible things? And <em>what</em> is your intention in coming <em>here?"</em></p><p>Steven sighs, his composure faltering very slightly: "I'm not here to hurt anybody or destroy the shelter; those aren't my orders. The teardrop-gem Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby came back and somehow kidnapped Connie. They're holding her hostage and hurting her, and they'll murder her if I don't do whatever Aquamarine says." Nanefua and the crowd gasp in horror, and he continues:</p><p>"I'd rather not waste my time here like this, not with what those two are... doing to Connie. I'm here because it's what she'd want, because you all deserve an explanation. I'm here to say sorry; I <em>knew</em> that Beach City would be destroyed if I fought Lapis or Malachite on the beach, but I did it anyway."</p><p>"I'm sorry that you've all lost your homes and businesses. I tried to heal the damage, but it won't work; the buildings are too thoroughly destroyed. You're all homeless, and I don't expect any of you to ever forgive me; but if you want to hate someone, please only hate <em>me</em>. Don't hold anything against Connie or Lion, none of this is their fault. And Jasper and... L-Lapis... only did what they had to do as Crystal Gems." Many people in the crowd behind Nanefua begin to weep; none of them seem to have the strength to say anything right now.</p><p>Nanefua feels the need to ask one more question: "And <em>what,</em> exactly, are the rest of Aquamarine's <em>orders</em>, Steven?" Steven replies honestly: "To raze Little Homeworld to the ground, and to poof and bubble the Diamonds. I'll take down anybody who stands in my way; I'll do whatever I have to do to save Connie."</p><p>Several people gasp again, including the quartet of Ruby guards who narrow their eyes at Steven. Everyone notices Steven's unusually expressionless tone and the cold look on his face.</p><p>"Again everybody, I'm sorry; I love all of you, but I've gotta go, there's no more time to waste." He turns on his heel to walk back towards Lion when suddenly, a small and very hot fist strikes his lower right leg. It hardly hurts except for the burn, but it surprises him enough that he wobbles a bit; a few moments later, a very large pair of arms reaches around to grab him in a headlock, and he finds himself on the receiving end of a suplex that embeds him deeply into the floor just inside the shelter's doorway.</p><p>A large boot comes down towards his chest, but he rolls out of the way and leaps to his feet. Staring him down is a massive Ruby-fusion composed of Nanefua's four bodyguards. Standing in the doorway next to her to block the exit are several Gems: Those who reside in Beach City instead of Little Homeworld, those who work in town, and those who just happened to be there during the evacuation. There are several Quartzes, a few Nephrites, Bixbite, and Orange Spodumene.</p><p>Even Nanefua is speechless as the humans shuffle as far towards the back wall of the shelter as they can. The Ruby-fusion speaks for the assembled Gems: "If... if you're gonna destroy Little Homeworld, t-then... w-we'll... we'll stop you! Even if you're doing this for Connie, we can't let you keep doing terrible stuff! P-prepare yourself, S-Steven... you're g-going down!"</p><p>Steven sighs, turns Pink, and replies in a tone that's slightly sympathetic but mostly annoyed:</p><p>"All of you, just <em>stand down</em> for your own good. I <em>told you</em> that I'll take down <em>anybody</em> who stands in my way. I understand your reasons, but this is a fight you <em>really</em> don't wanna pick, and clearly you <em>know</em> that. I defeated Alexandrite, Lapis who has surpassed the other Diamonds, and even <em>Malachite;</em> I'm the <em>most powerful Diamond</em>. My power can shake the <em>entire Earth</em> and I don't have time to waste with <em>insects</em> like Rubies, Nephrites, Spodumenes, Bixbites, and Quartzes. I'm <em>generously</em> giving you <em>one chance</em> to back down; step aside or I'll pound you all into the ground in an <em>instant</em>."</p><p>The humans are <em>shocked</em> to hear him speak in such a way; the Steven they knew would <em>never</em> act so <em>dismissive</em> towards anyone or like his strength makes him superior. This man is <em>not</em> the same compassionate, sweet, caring, and silly boy who they grew to love as they watched him grow up, and his new personality horrifies them even more than when he had his issues at sixteen. It begins to dawn on them that the situation involving Connie, that following Aquamarine's orders, is doing something horrible to his mind; he's becoming a coldhearted war-machine with a god-complex.</p><p>While many of them are angry or even despise him for destroying their town, they all <em>pity</em> him and wish they knew how to help him. Kiki, Peedee, and Onion (Buck, Sour Cream, and Jenny no longer reside in Beach City) raise their hands to their mouths as they cry even harder; seeing Steven like this is too horrible to bear. Ronaldo for once has no desire to snap pictures; he stands watching in slack-jawed horror.</p><p>The Gems, on the other hand, look offended and resentful; all but one of them have variations of the same thought: <em>Diamonds can't be trusted</em>, and the current situation was the push that Steven needed in order to fall from grace and adopt the personality of the Diamonds from Eras 1 and 2. <em>"Power corrupts,"</em> as humans say.</p><p>The Ruby-fusion growls angrily, but her tone remains wavering and uncertain: "E-even if you're a D-Diamond, we... we'll fight you! And we'll f-find a way to win!" She and the other Gems charge forward; the Ruby-fusion pulls back her fist for a massive haymaker, the Quartzes spin-dash at him, Bixbite comes at him with her claw, and the Nephrites and Spodumene charge towards him with their fists pulled back.</p><p>Steven sighs again and <em>speeds up</em>. Unlike Jasper and Lapis, these Gems haven't trained to take on the speed of a Diamond; they may as well be snails to him. It all happens in the blink of an eye: He surges forward and punches the Ruby-fusion in the stomach hard enough to instantly de-fuse her; then he darts around to each of the other Gems and uses overhead hammer fist strikes to pound them into the ground using minimal force. When finished, he returns to normal speed and deactivates Pink State.</p><p>None of the Quartzes poof, Bixbite poofs, two Rubies poof, Spodumene retains her form, and all but one of the Nephrites poof. The remaining Nephrite is someone he knows well, one who he once risked everything to help, one who prior to these events considered him a <em>friend:</em> "Centi," Nephrite Facet-413 Cabochon-12. Steven hardens his heart even more.</p><p>He held back a great deal, so no one is cracked or shattered; he's gotten a feel by now for how to regulate his Diamond-power to avoid causing unnecessary damage to weaker foes. Steven gazes coldly down upon them, and says to the Gems who remain un-poofed and groaning in pain upon the ground:</p><p>"I <em>warned you</em> that picking a fight with a Diamond is stupid. Since you <em>dared</em> to <em>oppose</em> me, I beat all of you down so that now you're <em>at my feet</em> where puny weaklings who try to stop me from saving Connie <em>belong</em>. I may as well be a <em>god</em> to you, and you can't stop me from doing what I have to do. Don't give me that look, Nephrite; I <em>gave you</em> a chance to back down, and I told you <em>exactly</em> what I'd do if you didn't. I love you, but I love Connie <em>far more</em>. Be grateful I know how to hold back enough not to shatter you. If any of you try to follow or stop me, I'll poof you this time."</p><p>Steven walks forward, passing the Gems lying on the floor without even glancing at them. But as he walks past Nephrite's prone form, she desperately grasps at his ankle to try to hold him in place, gazing up at him with her eye filled with tears. For just an instant he glances down at her with a slightly apologetic look of pity, and then yanks his leg out of her grasp and brings his foot down upon her back to poof her.</p><p>He turns his gaze back towards Lion and continues onwards without sparing her gemstone a second glance, leaving the other Gems behind glaring hatefully at him. He had to show them he's serious; they've slowed him down enough and he's wasted enough time by deigning to speak to them, and it won't do if any of them have the audacity to come after him. He passes through the open doorway.</p><p>After witnessing Steven's new demeanor and attitude, almost all the humans are speechless and frozen in shocked horror. The boy they all loved so much, Beach City's golden boy, their poster-child for compassion and morality, destroyed the entire town, the town he himself loves, merely as a side-effect of a battle in which he betrayed his closest friends. And then to add insult to injury, he acted <em>monstrously</em> towards Gems who have become valued members of the community, even one who considered him her friend and revered him as her savior.</p><p>Steven acted like a wrathful god and even stated that he may as well be one. For the first time, the residents of Beach City realize that such a statement is to some degree accurate and that all of them have been in denial up until this point:</p><p>However often beings like Lapis, Steven, and the Diamonds may have <em>claimed</em> before today that they and humans are "equal life-forms," the truth is that those beings could casually lay waste to every continent in an instant, wiping out all of humanity as easily as a human could stomp on an anthill. The residents of Beach City are currently looking at the most powerful such being, the most powerful entity in existence; Steven can heal, create life, and <em>resurrect the dead</em>, and yet his <em>destructive</em> powers are equally as impressive, as if he were a god of both creation and destruction. This incident will prove traumatic for many of the townsfolk, haunting their nightmares for years to come, as they just witnessed <em>the act of a god</em>.</p><p>But one human isn't frozen in place, already forgiving Steven for him and not judging him for his sins, and that person doesn't fear Steven's godlike power. That person suddenly runs out of the crowd, sprinting towards Steven and coming to a stop behind him.</p><p>Steven hears the patter of someone's footsteps and turns around to find <em>Onion</em> standing before him. In these past couple years, the young child has finally grown taller, although he's absolutely dwarfed by Steven's Quartz-like height. Onion is more slender than he was in the past and is wearing the Cheeseburger Backpack that Steven gave to him two years ago.</p><p>Steven stands in shocked silence as Onion suddenly lunges forward and hugs him. Onion may be a troublemaker with a penchant for criminal behavior and destruction, but he's always loved his dear friend Steven, and it seems like today's events haven't changed that.</p><p>Steven kneels down hesitantly, slowly raising his arms and wrapping them around the much smaller boy to return the hug. After a brief moment in which they fear for Onion's safety, all the humans watching, and even the Gems (however much they may resent Steven now), suddenly remember something:</p><p>Steven is usually a <em>gentle</em> person, a <em>pacifist</em>. He <em>could</em> rule over the universe with an iron fist, but he <em>doesn't want</em> to: All that this godlike young man wants is to save his soulmate at all costs. That thought doesn't exactly ease their minds, but it does help them see Steven's actions in a different light: His <em>power</em> and <em>actions</em> may be those of a destructive god, but his <em>motives</em> and the <em>feelings</em> that underlie them are <em>as human as can be</em>. The same can be said of Lapis and even the Diamonds: Whatever godlike power they may possess, <em>they have the same feelings that humans have. </em>People with soulmates of their own like Vidalia and Yellowtail understand Steven's dilemma all too well: "Love makes people do crazy things," as the saying goes.</p><p>With tears in his eyes, Onion mutters a couple of sentences in his unintelligible language. Steven doesn't need to understand the exact words in order to know what Onion is saying; his stony façade crumbles and tears begin to pour from his eyes as he responds to the boy's sentiments:</p><p>"Onion... I... th-thank you... I... probably don't <em>deserve</em> your forgiveness, but... I'll accept it gladly. I'll always love you too Onion, you're a good friend. And don't worry, I won't turn back now or give up after all this; I'll save Connie." Onion nods against Steven's chest in response.</p><p>Steven pulls away from the hug, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder before continuing:</p><p>"Onion, I won't be welcome in Beach City once it's rebuilt; we both know I'll be exiled from there and Little Homeworld. But if you wanna keep in touch, I'd appreciate that. You've got my number. I'd tell you to stay out of trouble, but I know you won't; so just don't do anything <em>too</em> bad, and <em>don't get caught</em>, okay? Besides, you'll surely never do <em>anything</em> as horrible as the things <em>I've</em> done. I love you Onion." Onion wipes the tears from his eyes and nods again, and Steven wipes his eyes as well before rising back to his feet.</p><p>He walks over to Lion, hops onto his back, and the coldness returns to his face and voice: "Bring us to the center of Little Homeworld." Lion roars open a portal to the desired destination, and he and Steven leave Onion and the shocked crowd behind.</p>
<hr/><p>Steven and Lion exit the portal to land upon the Warp Pad in the center of Little Homeworld. Some of the buildings are damaged, but the town remains mostly intact thanks to its greater distance from the shoreline and the durability of the Gem-tech materials used in much of its construction. The city is empty; all its residents have evacuated to the surrounding countryside or to other planets. Steven says, "stay on the Warp-Pad, Lion," and hops off to land on the ground beside the warp.</p><p>He turns Pink once again and erects a barrier around the Warp-Pad and Lion, triple-layered just to be safe. He <em>screams</em> using just a smidgen of his Pink State power; there's no need for his diamond-eyed form to destroy just one small city. An omnidirectional shockwave of supernatural "sound" and pink energy levels all of Little Homeworld to the ground, leaving behind nothing but rubble and dust. The only things left standing are Steven, the Warp-Pad, and Lion. Steven deactivates Pink State and the barrier.</p><p>Lion steps off the Warp and lowers his head before Steven; Steven dives into his mane and emerges with Peridot's, Bismuth's, Jasper's, and Lapis' bubbles as well as his phone, a protein-bar, and one of the water bottles. The sight of Lapis' bubbled gemstone wounds Steven's heart when he thinks back to how things ended between them, and he nearly begins to cry. <em>"I really do wish I could smoke a fucking joint right now,"</em> he thinks, <em>"because stars know I need the stress relief. But dammit, I have to keep a clear head, and I can't keep wasting time. But what happened with Lapis, it was just so..."</em> He stares mournfully at Lapis' bubble for a few more moments.</p><p>"<em>No,"</em> he thinks, <em>"I've gotta harden my heart. Lapis dared to stand in my way after I gave her a chance to back down, so I showed her that even she and Malachite can't stand up to the mightiest of Diamonds. I may love her and value her friendship, but if she hates me now, then so be it; she, Jasper, and Malachite are the ones who were too weak to back up their words with actions. I'll do the same to the Diamonds as I did to them, because I'm doing this for Connie. I've got a call to make."</em></p><p>A cold expression returns to his face. Before making the call, he eats the protein-bar and drinks a few gulps of water before placing the wrapper and the water back in Lion's mane. Almost all his fatigue from earlier is gone thanks to his ability to rapidly recover, but he wants his reserves of energy to be at their maximum. He can't be too careful in case he has to fight the Diamonds one-on-three or take on any of Homeworld's technology.</p><p>He leaves the four bubbled Gems floating in midair in front of the Warp and makes a Vidtime call to Connie's phone. After two rings, Aquamarine answers it and appears on the screen. Before she can get a word in edgewise, Steven speaks up in a cold, eerie tone with a slight hint of malice: "Show Connie to me, <em>now</em>. I took care of the issue, but I won't show you the results until I see that she's still alive."</p><p>Aquamarine looks taken aback by his tone for just an instant before turning so that Connie and Eyeball are visible behind her, zooming in for a closeup on Connie as she says: "Hmph, very well, as you can see she's still breathing and even conscious. However, I can't say that she's anywhere near <em>intact</em> due to how <em>uncooperative</em> she's been." She smirks wickedly at that, and Steven can see what she means:</p><p>Connie is trembling in pain, with burn-marks scattered across the exposed skin of her arms, legs, and neck; it seems that after making it clear that they'll hurt her due to lack of "cooperation," Aqua and Eyeball are no longer even trying to hide the fact that they're torturing her. The bruise on her right jaw from Eyeball's slap during the first call has grown large and prominent, and her left cheek is swollen and purple; there's definitely a fracture where Eyeball slapped her during the last call.</p><p>Suddenly, Connie lifts her face to look straight at the screen, making eye-contact with Steven; if Steven isn't yet showing his "results" to her captors, then she can look at him for now but still keep her vow to not look upon the things he's been forced to do. When she locks eyes with Steven he can see the unconditional love written all over her face.</p><p>His own expression softens, and tears begin to gather in his eyes as he looks at her with all the love and sympathy in the cosmos, although she probably can't see his eyes clearly with Aquamarine holding the phone at a distance from her. There are no tears in her eyes despite the immense pain she's clearly in; his Strawberry really is strong. Steven turns himself and the phone so that Lion is visible in the frame with him; he wants Connie to see that Lion is fighting on her behalf as well. She shoots Lion a look of love and gratitude.</p><p>She then does something that shocks Aquamarine and Eyeball, although Steven and Lion half-expected it; she doesn't care about the consequences, all she wants is to demonstrate her love and support, and so she <em>speaks up.</em> She yells as quickly as possible in a slurred voice due to her broken cheek and bruised jaw: "I'll keep loving and supporting both of you no matter what! You'll always be my soulmate, Steven! I don't give a damn what these two do to me fo-"</p><p>She's suddenly cut off by Eyeball taking hold of her upper left arm and <em>snapping it like a twig;</em> Steven winces and sees red for a moment, barely managing to keep his rage under control after hearing the sickening crack of Connie's humerus breaking. Beside him, Lion growls and trembles with rage, but restrains himself from roaring. And yet, Connie somehow doesn't flinch, she <em>doesn't even wince</em> from the pain, and her eyes remain free of tears. Steven and Lion both think that she really is the <em>absolute strongest;</em> she's the biggest victim here, and yet she's handling the situation better than they are.</p><p>"Shut up, you damn <em>human</em>," Eyeball roars, "<em>that's what you get</em> for opening your stupid fucking mouth!" Aquamarine says in a tone far calmer than Eyeball's: "Indeed, I warned you that something like this would happen if you spoke to each other, and I <em>specifically</em> warned you about the consequences of any sickening talk of <em>love</em>. You got what you deserved."</p><p>Rather than backing down, Connie glares daggers first at Eyeball and then at Aquamarine before saying: "You can both go <em>fuck yourselves;</em> do your worst, I'm still not afraid of you and you can't break my will! I know you can't hurt me in worse ways than you already have because you need me alive and Steven and Lion will <em>end</em> you if you kill me. And if I had my sword, <em>I'd</em> kick both your sorry, cowardly asses even when injured like this!"</p><p>Eyeball and Aquamarine look flabbergasted, and Eyeball moves to do something else to Connie when Steven suddenly yells with tears in his eyes: "Stop! I've done what you've asked, everything on Earth is finished, so please don't hurt her anymore, okay? I'm sure she'll stop talking back to you... <em>right?</em>" Everyone realizes that he's actually addressing Connie with that final statement, but Aquamarine and Eyeball decide to let that slide since he didn't speak to her directly and because he's asking her to cooperate with them. Lion lets out a soft growl.</p><p>Steven spoke that last word in a <em>pleading</em> tone, and Lion growled in the way he does when begging for something. Connie has a revelation: <em>She</em> may not fear her captors and what they might do to her, <em>she</em> may not care if they hurt her (the pain is intense beyond words, but she's strong enough to take it), and <em>she</em> may want to fight back in any way she can even if it's only with words, but in her stubborn desire to fight she failed to consider that every time she's hurt, it also hurts the ones she loves.</p><p><em>"My stars,"</em> she thinks, <em>"as much as I hate cooperating with them, I've got to stop disobeying these two psychotic bitches. It sucks, but I can't actually do anything here with my hands literally tied; sometimes, the strongest thing is to stop trying to fight and leave it to others. I've already expressed my love and support for Steven and Lion to help them stay strong; but now if I keep pissing Aquamarine and Eyeball off by talking shit so that they hurt me, that'll only make things harder on Steven and Lion."</em> She still won't look at the results of Steven's and Lion's "work," as she vowed not to, but other than that she resolves to obey her captors from here on out.</p><p>Lion and Steven, meanwhile, are thinking something entirely different. Lion, of course, is thinking about savagely tearing into Aquamarine and Eyeball. Steven's thoughts are similar but far more sinister:</p><p><em>"Those two,"</em> he thinks, <em>"I'll make them suffer. I bet they think that once all this is over and I get Connie back, I'll just have them sent to stand trial for their crimes. But no, that would be too good for them. They've dared to hurt Connie, the great love of my life, the most amazing person in the cosmos. They'll pay for that. Everything they've done and will do to Connie, I'll make sure to pay it back to them a thousand times over. They'll regret this, and they'll learn just how terrifying the wrath of a Diamond can be. They'll learn that I am their God, and they'll pay the price for hurting my Goddess."</em></p><p>"Very well," says Aquamarine, "I've decided to be generous and let Connie's last remark slide as long as she no longer disrespects us. So, you mentioned that you've taken care of the earlier situation and all of your work on Earth. I take it that those earthquakes earlier were the result of your battle with the Lapis Lazuli, yes?"</p><p>"Yeah, our battle shook the entire world," he replies in a cold monotone, "and so did my battle with Malachite since I wasn't able to stop Lapis from fusing with Jasper. But even the fusion of the Ultimate Quartz and the Ultimate Lapis wasn't able to stand in the way of the mightiest Diamond. Malachite was more powerful than I expected; as long as I block their special abilities, the Diamonds should be easy pickings by comparison. Most Gems may as well be insects as far as I'm concerned, and I may as well be their God."</p><p><em>"He's trying to intimidate her,"</em> Connie thinks, <em>"to get her to back down and let me go right now so that he'll have mercy on her and Eyeball."</em> She watches her two captors closely for any sign of fear, but as she suspected, there's no fear to be found; it seems that they truly don't care what happens to them, or at least they think they don't, as long as they can have their revenge on Steven and Era 3 society.</p><p>She wonders if their attitude will change once he gets his hands on them; she knows Steven well and can easily guess what this situation is doing to him mentally, as well as what he must be planning for her two captors. He's obviously growing coldhearted and developing a god-complex, and she can tell that he at least somewhat meant what he said about other Gems being insects. She hopes that once he succeeds in his mission and rescues her, she'll be able to help him return to his old self; but even if she can't draw out all of his old compassion, even if his heart and his moral compass are forever tainted by this experience, <em>she'll still love him unconditionally</em>.</p><p>Steven doesn't let his disappointment show when Aquamarine shows no sign of fear and she replies: "Well of course, that's to be expected as long as you didn't hold back; your power is able to grow with your emotions, and you are indeed the mightiest of the Diamonds at your peak. White Diamond's cover-up of the fact that Pink's full potential exceeded her own is no longer a secret as of the events of two years ago; that's why I know that you're the perfect tool for my use, and that's why unlike the incident with your father, I've ordered you to take out the other Diamonds as well. Now stop bragging in some useless attempt to intimidate me and Ruby, and show us the results of your work." Connie averts her eyes from the phone.</p><p>So Aquamarine knows that he was trying to intimidate them, Steven and Connie think, and she simply doesn't care. So much for that idea. Steven turns the phone to show the Little Homeworld Warp with Peridot's, Bismuth's, Jasper's, and Lapis' bubbles floating in the foreground, and says: "As you can see, I'm at the Little Homeworld Warp, and the rest of the Crystal Gems who you ordered me to take down are in bubbles." He presses the zoom-out button on the app, and then pans the phone around to show the entire area and says, "moreover, Little Homeworld is now destroyed."</p><p>He sets the zoom back to normal and looks at the screen as Aquamarine replies with a gleeful smile: "Splendid, absolutely perfect! I must say, Steven, I'm quite impressed. You seem to be becoming <em>quite</em> coldhearted and ruthless, which are qualities I admire in a person. Your declaration of superiority over lower life-forms due to your status as a Diamond pleases me as well; I can tell that you weren't <em>just</em> trying to intimidate me, that you truly <em>do</em> view lesser Gems as insects."</p><p>"That's a <em>good</em> thing as far as we're concerned, because Ruby and I <em>are</em> insects compared to the Diamonds. We <em>hate</em> the ideals of Era 3, the ideals that <em>you</em> once championed. You taught the other Diamonds to believe that other Gems, and even lowly organics, are somehow their equals, and in time your teachings sank in with them. You have no idea how <em>happy</em> it makes me to see you realize how foolish that was. Considering your new attitude, I can't help but wonder why you still care about a lowly specimen such as Connie here; but considering that she's my means to manipulate you, I suppose I can't complain."</p><p>To Aquamarine's surprise, Steven says: "Connie isn't beneath me, because <em>strength</em> and <em>power</em> aren't the same things, and Connie is <em>the strongest person in the universe.</em> She's <em>stronger than me,</em> she's strong in the <em>real</em> way. If <em>I'm</em> a <em>God,</em> then <em>she's</em> a <em>Goddess."</em> Hearing Steven speak such words warms Connie's heart and makes her blush in spite of the pain of all her injuries, and he continues:</p><p>"The Crystal Gems and humans who I already know and love, they're not beneath me either, because <em>I know they're strong</em> as well. What's changed thanks to this mission you've assigned to me is that I don't have room in my heart anymore for people I don't already know. I know a big part of your goal is to hurt me and make me suffer, and you've succeeded in that by making me betray everybody. I suppose that must make you happy. But I'm doing it for the one person I care about most of all; thanks to you, I've realized that I can't afford any <em>useless distractions,</em> that sometimes I've gotta decide what's <em>most</em> important to me and become willing to sacrifice <em>everything else</em> for that. Just like a Diamond, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm becoming coldhearted and ruthless, and I've come to accept that my power is that of a God. But I'll <em>never</em> look down on <em>everybody</em> who doesn't rival my power. I'd explain the difference between strength and power to you, but I'd surely be wasting my breath. And besides, you did tell me to only use these calls to update you on the status of the mission. I just <em>had</em> to clarify that Connie and the other people I already love aren't beneath me, and they never will be. Connie is my Goddess, and once I've defeated the other Gods, you damn well better keep your word and release her, or else you'll have to face <em>the wrath of a God</em>."</p><p>"Hmph," Aquamarine replies testily while trying to conceal her shock, "I can't say I'm entirely pleased with your new attitude after all; in fact, much of what you said disgusts me. But hearing that this is making you suffer and that it pained you to betray your friends does fill my heart with joy and more than makes up for my displeasure. Carry on, then; once you take out the other Diamonds and show their bubbled gems to us, I will provide you with our location through Connie's phone here. I know you still have a grudge against them, so have fun demonstrating your supremacy over the other three <em>Gods</em>, Steven <em>Diamond</em> Universe." She hangs up the phone.</p>
<hr/><p>Aquamarine turns to Connie with a look of consternation and confusion on her face; it frustrates her greatly that despite embracing his role as a Diamond, Steven would still care for a lowly organic creature such as this, and that he would speak in such confusing riddles. Eyeball is clearly frustrated as well, and is about to do something new to Connie when Aquamarine says:</p><p>"No Ruby, stop; other than the destabilizer-torture, we can't risk hurting her by causing further severe injuries, as humans are fragile and we can't run the risk of accidentally killing her. One or two more broken bones are probably the limit at this point since her current injuries remain untreated. Besides, I have some questions for her."</p><p>Eyeball nods and takes a few steps back from Connie; Aquamarine is right, even Eyeball knows enough after their research to realize that injuring Connie too much more would be a risky move. Aquamarine flies over to Connie to hover a few feet in front of her face, and proceeds to question her:</p><p>"What did he mean, Connie, about the difference between strength and power? As a naturally high-ranking Gem, it pains me to ask a mere <em>human</em> to enlighten me on the thoughts of a <em>Diamond,</em> but you know him better than anyone so I figure you must know what he meant. Why would he speak in such riddles? He clearly <em>has</em> accepted his true nature as a Diamond, as a <em>god</em> who stands vastly above the likes of Ruby and even me."</p><p>"He and the other Diamonds truly <em>are</em> gods: They have mighty auras they can project from their bodies in order to achieve various effects, they can perceive and interact with the souls of others in the astral plane, and their raw power is enough to casually level the surfaces of entire planets if they so desire. Perhaps once he's demonstrated his superiority over them, the other three will return to their old ways after being un-bubbled. I can only hope so. Among non-fusion Gems, only the Ultimate Lapis Lazuli is on par with them since she is a truly perfect specimen of a Gem-type created to shape entire worlds and has trained herself to her peak."</p><p>"You may be a lowly human, but I know that you are nevertheless extremely intelligent; clearly you realize by now that our true plan goes far beyond mere revenge or a desire to destroy Era 3. What we want is to do those things as well as return things to their natural order, to the way of Eras 1 and 2 in which the Diamonds stood at the top and enforced the rightful caste system among Gem-kind."</p><p>"And yet, Steven confounds me. Just as I hoped, his battles with his friends and family have forced him to grow coldhearted, and he has embraced his true nature as the mightiest Diamond, the highest of the gods. And yet, he just spouted those nonsensical riddles about strength being different from power and about not viewing all weaklings as being beneath him."</p><p>"The Pearl, the defective Amethyst, the permafusion, all the others besides the Lapis and to some extent the Jasper, why would he <em>possibly</em> consider them strong and to not stand beneath him? And most confusing of all, why would he consider <em>you</em> to be equal or even superior to him?"</p><p>"I will admit that what you and Steven said about the method we used to take you is true, Connie: You are <em>remarkably</em> strong for a <em>human,</em> strong enough to rival many Gems. Strong enough that we decided to come after you in your sleep because if you were awake and got hold of your sword, you could possibly take us down even as Bluebird."</p><p>"But even so, your strength is to a <em>Diamond's</em> as a single <em>microorganism's</em> is to <em>yours.</em> So why would the mightiest of the Diamonds consider you to be <em>stronger</em> than him, Connie? Why would he call you a 'goddess' and compare you to a god such as himself? I figured that he would remain attached to you no matter what due to his sickeningly sentimental nature. But I expected that upon embracing his true nature as a Diamond he would come to view you as a pet, or at most as some kind of... what was that word I came across in my research on human relationships... ah yes, a 'concubine,' I believe."</p><p>Connie can't help it; she laughs, even though doing so racks her injured body with pain. Aquamarine grows even more confused: "What, what's so <em>funny,</em> you pathetic <em>human?</em> Are you <em>mocking</em> me?"</p><p>After a few seconds, Connie's laughter subsides, and she replies: "Wow, are you finally done? You really love to hear yourself talk, don't you? Yeah, I <em>was</em> mocking you by laughing, but that last statement just now wasn't mockery: I tend to ramble when I'm deeply curious or passionate about something, too. Anyway, I laughed at you because you using the word 'concubine' and suggesting Steven would view me that way is <em>ridiculous</em>, and even though you just spent so long rambling on in order to ask your questions, there's no way you can understand the actual answers to them. To be honest, I <em>pity</em> the two of you for how your stubborn, willful ignorance holds you back from ever achieving true happiness."</p><p>Aquamarine and Eyeball look flabbergasted, and Connie continues: "As Steven said, strength and power aren't the same things. He wasn't speaking in riddles, trying to confuse you, or anything like that; he was just speaking the truth. Well, about most things anyway; <em>personally</em>, I don't think I'm <em>stronger</em> than him, but it's really flattering that he thinks I am. He and I are <em>equals</em>, Aquamarine, and that's what it means for us to be soulmates in a committed relationship."</p><p>"Steven will never view me as somehow beneath him no matter how many continents he can crack in half or whatever, because he and I are <em>in love.</em> I know you hate mushy, sentimental stuff like that, but it's the truth. And while I don't agree with him about me being stronger, I'm not weaker than him either."</p><p>"I'll answer your question about the difference between strength and power, but as Steven and I have said, the explanation will be wasted on you two: Strength isn't about how much weight a person can lift, how fast they can move, what magical powers they have, how hard they can punch, or how well they can fight. All of those things are <em>power</em>, not true strength. <em>Real</em> strength is <em>patience;</em> real strength is <em>restraint;</em> real strength is <em>love, tolerance, and acceptance;</em> real strength is <em>compassion</em> and <em>empathy</em>. And most of all, strength is willpower, the conviction to follow through on and fight for what you believe in no matter how hard it may be. That's why Steven is both powerful <em>and</em> strong."</p><p>There's a long pause, and then... "Blech, <em>disgusting,"</em> Aquamarine says, "you're right, I don't understand that drivel, and I <em>don't want to.</em> I should have known that your answer would be something sickeningly sentimental. You <em>disgust</em> me, and I can only hope that by taking his revenge on the other Diamonds, Steven will come to abandon such sentimentality and come to see you as what you really are: Just a Diamond's pet."</p><p>She suddenly darts over and grabs the small destabilizer, flying back over to Connie with a wicked grin on her face and saying: "So since you once again averted your eyes from the destruction that Steven wrought, let's get started again, shall we?" Connie grits her teeth once more. She won't give these two miserable, pathetic scumbags the satisfaction of seeing her scream, flinch, or cry.</p><p>Back in the ruins of Little Homeworld, Steven briefly contemplates his two true enemies. Aquamarine and Eyeball may not fear him <em>yet,</em> as he failed to intimidate them so far; but they'll <em>learn</em> the <em>true meaning of fear,</em> of being on the receiving end of <em>a Diamond's wrath,</em> soon enough. "Don't worry, Lion," he says while ruffling his loyal companion's mane, "once we get Connie back, I'm gonna make those two <em>suffer</em>. And when they beg for mercy, I won't grant it." Lion huffs and growls his approval, and Steven smiles wickedly.</p><p>He returns Peridot's, Bismuth's, Jasper's, and Lapis' bubbles to Lion's mane, and then he and Lion step up onto the Warp-Pad and he warps them to the Diamond Palace on Homeworld. All the fights so far were psychological torture, but Steven looks forward to <em>enjoying</em> this final battle. He finally has a <em>good excuse</em> to get the Diamonds back for everything they once did to him, his friends and family, and the universe. As he and Lion pass through warp space, Steven <em>smiles</em> once more.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know that one of the big themes of the franchise is that being powerful doesn't automatically put anyone "above" anyone else. In this story, it may seem like I'm undermining that theme. Really though, I'm not undermining it, I'm simply pointing out the obvious fact that in terms of <em>sheer raw power,</em> the top-tiers of the series (Lapis, the Diamonds) <em>may as well be gods</em> by human standards. But I'm also pointing out that those people aren't necessarily stronger "in the real way" than all those with far less power than them.</p><p>That's why Steven said that if he's a God, then Connie is a Goddess; he's well aware that even though she can't crack continents in half like he can, she's nevertheless at least as strong as he is. Not that Connie isn't pretty powerful though, fighting a Topaz and casually slicing a car in half are pretty impressive feats. Also, "Maheswaran" is a title for the god Shiva that means "Lord of the Universe" 😉</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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